The Burning Dust
by Malefic Stories
Summary: A young Umbran man finds himself in a new world in search for a unique item but discovers more than what he bargains for.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a story from a different perspective of an OCC. RWBY and all RWBY characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Addition voice actor and actress for any OC has been noted beside the character to help imagery.

Option music for immersion in order:

*1 Forever Fall Pt.1

*2 Caffeine (Casey Williams)

*3 I Burn (Casey Williams)

*4 The Shining Beacon Pt.2

*5 Glow (Most Emotional Music Ever)

* * *

 **A Shower in the Forest**

 ***1**

A fall wind blows into the crimson leaf trees, stirring the leaves into a dance within the Forest of Forever Fall. The beautiful forest is serene during the day and under the full moon, absolutely captivating. The ground covered in layers of leaves, the cliffs and hills, everything is illuminated under the starless sky, even the Grimm that patrol it. Ursa both thin and fat travel in small packs, Beowolf prowling within the small shades of trees, their red eyes scouting for prey and other Grimm, the alpha howling into the night sky. Across the bright moon, a Nevermore flies across its surface, gliding unchallenged while scanning the ground looking across all it can see, its sights focusing so well that it did not seeing a bright star flickering in the sky. The star flickers and grows brighter, its color changing slowly from white to orange and red like a small flame. The star became bigger and bigger like a shooting star, light trailing behind it until it goes from being like a shooting star to a meteor.

The meteor is small in size and flies at an angle coming down fast and making direct impact with the Nevermore, the bird twisting out of control and crashes into the trees below screeching, the meteor skimming the trees before landing with a brilliant explosion of red, orange, and fallen leaves. The flames from the fallen meteor formed a trail to where it's fallen, a groove dug deep into the ground leading to it. However, the hole where it landed, or supposed to have landed, is empty. Grim surround the crater, sniffing the singed air and looking up to sky, their red eyes scanning everything. A Beowolf howls, running quickly through the trees while its pack followed, heading into a clearing to find one human walking from the direction they came from.

The smaller Ursa roar at the hooded individual, his black full body cloak swaying in the breeze. The edged of his cloak are singed, as if on fire with embers flaking off at a constant but the cloak never fades. It covers most of his body, all but the legs and large shining black sheath on his back. The ornate sheath is 5 feet long and a foot wide, a golden feather engraved at the sheath's center. The hilt is silver, moonlight gleaming from the shine and polish, with a black chain going from its handle to the man's arm, wrapping around the right arm from over the shoulder. The Beowolves run around and circle the man, Ursa forming a line and roaring at him, the man reaching back and grabbing a hold of the hilt with his right tan skinned hand. Pulling the sword out, its onyx colored blade reflects the moonlight, a small hole near the hilt followed by a faint zigzag leading from the hole up to the very tip of the blade. Its finish is smooth, both sides of the blade sharp making it out to be a lethal 2 edged sword. He places the sword across his shoulders, wind blowing his hood off revealing his face.

His jet black hair is wild and shoulder length, a silver bit of hair on the top left side of his hair mixed in. *2 His face is young and smooth, his eyes closed as wind blew more leaves by his darker toned skin and his breathing is controlled. A Beowolf howls, running from the pack and runs at him, jumping up into the air claws and fangs bared, the young man opening his eyes revealing crimson red iris eyes. He immediately turns around and brings the sword right down the middle of the Beowolf's head to the tail, the 2 halves landing on both sides of him. He pulls up his sword and puts it back on his shoulders, more Beowolves running at him. Bringing the sword around, it slices through them as they come 2 at a time, cutting off their heads then kicking those heads into other Beowolf, knocking them back.

He throws his sword into the seemingly endless herd of Beowolves, the sword piercing through with the chain extended behind it. The chain stops after 6 feet of chain and is pulled back after the sword pierces a Beowolf, bringing it back and he swings the sword around into the air behind him, hitting another in mid jump, cutting through them both. The sword is pulled back to him, an Ursa running straight at him and he blocks an incoming swipe, sending him back a bit. The man runs back at the Ursa, back flips, kicking the maw of the Ursa straight up forcing it to stand, then takes his sword and impales the Grimm. Using both hands, he grabs the hilt of his sword and forces it apart, the Ursa dropping in 2 halves and the man standing with 2 swords identical with one another, slender on one side and ridged on the other. The holes ignite with a flame causing the slender sides to engulf themselves in a unique golden flame, the crimson leaves around him kicking up from the heat.

Meanwhile, the Nevermore begins stirring, standing up slowly, ruffling its feathers and chirping out a roar like cry. More Ursa rush the man, only to get jumped on and helps to launch him into the air. Beowolf jump over the Ursa, the man cutting them like butter with the flaming swords. He twists with them coming back down, cutting through the Grimm then as he lands, extends the right blade with the chain still connected into the Ursa he jumped off of. He yanks the sword back, bringing the corpse with it and cuts through it down the middle with the other sword. The Nevermore flies up into the sky and finds him immediately, flapping its wings at him sending deadly feather tips at him. He takes the sword with the chain and twirls it in front of him, a flame like shield covering him, burning any feathers that came his way. He twirls the sword over his head then sends it forward and catches it, causing a slice a flame to arc across the leaf covered ground and cuts through a chunk of Grimm. Every Ursa and Beowolf that tried attacking him is cut instinctively, dismembered and beheaded until only a few remained.

The Nevermore above dives down close to the ground, opening its mouth as it tries to ram him. He takes both of his swords and crosses them in front of his chest, sliding them against each other as he bends toward the bird as if he is holding his stomach. As it gets close, he slashes both of his swords to send flames at the Nevermore, both of them bold and crossed, hitting the Nevermore in the mask and staggers it. It tries to flap upward, stirring the leaves up with it and the man grabs its left talon. It flies up and eclipses the moon, the sudden stop making him jerk up. He uses the momentum, getting above the soaring bird and twirls his sword on the chain and creates a swirling flame around him, coming back down and brings down both swords on its head, bringing it down from the sky trailing with flames. When they land, the swords crack but don't shatter its mask. The remaining Beowolves run all around him, the man focusing and the flames on the sword glow even brighter.

The Nevermore gets back up slowly and as it gets up and starts to ascend, he puts the swords together, places the linked sword into the sheath and the Beowolves jump into the air. Just before they make contact, he pulls the sword covered in flames out over his head and slashes everything around him, obliterating the Beowolves and cutting the Nevermore's belly and wings up. He turns away from them, walking away as leaves fall all around them, sliding the sword into its sheath as cindered remains fall from the sky. The Nevermore crashed into the ground behind him as he is walking, groaning with its mask half broken.

The man stops and looks back at the Nevermore covered in red leaves and scars, its eyes slowly going dim. He turns back and walks back to it and slowly approaches it, its eyes looking directly at him. He places his left hand onto the bird's mask and looks at it closely. Behind him from within 2 trees, he hears crunching leaves as something approaches them. The thing turns out to be a woman with round glasses, a white frilly shirt with a bit of bust showing, a purple cape and black long skirt.

"Do you know who I am?" She speaks in a stern voice, clearly older and wiser than he looks. He does not respond, the woman looking at him up and down. "Guess not… I am Glynda Goodwitch."

"…" The young man looks back at her and then back to the Nevermore.

"You've no manners, either." Glynda slowly walks to him, her blonde hair perfectly made into a bun bouncing slightly, minding the Nevermore he's touching. "I've come to investigate the meteor that fell and I saw this Grimm fall from the sky after it was struck. However, when I went to the sight of the fall, there was nothing there but fire and turned up leaves."

He still pays her little mind it seems, going into his hood and pulling out a thin black chain and throwing it around the neck of the Nevermore.

"That is a Nevermore, one of the most dangerous Grimm out here. Surely, you saw the Grimm get struck with the meteor, so do you know where its remains are?" Glynda still received no response, crossing her arms under her breasts frowning. "How about something more direct? Are YOU the fallen star?" The young man stops, looking back at her.

(Voice of Robert McCollum) "What difference does it make?" He responded, his voice as stern as hers while young.

"Well you are trespassing on these grounds, so I would say plenty." Glynda pulls out a small pointer stick, aiming it at him.

"Glynda, please be a little bit more hospitable." Glynda turns around and sees an older man with wild strands of grey hair in a green suit behind her. He walks with a cane and a coffee in a white mug in his free left hand.

"Headmaster, what are you doing out here?" Glynda asks him as he walks closer, the Headmaster sipping his coffee.

"I merely wanted to see what you were up to. I sent you quite some time ago so I thought you were in some trouble, perhaps." He gets in front of her and pushes up his reading glasses up on his nose. "That's quite the Grimm you have there. Grimm are creatures attracted to negative emotions, panic, and other negativity that plaque humanity. They seek to destroy everything that we have created since the dawn of man, in fact."

"Everyone knows that, sir." Glynda chimes in, looking between him and the stranger.

"They lack a soul as well." The Headmaster finishes.

"But they do not lack intellect and judgment." The stranger says to him. "This… Grimm, can still be used with the right purpose, you merely have to give it to them."

"That's preposterous!" Glynda yells, glaring at the man uneasy. "Grimm exist to drive humanity to extinction. They attack without warning and kill mindlessly."

"And in this world, do you not have people that do the same?" He makes eye contact with her and looks back at the Nevermore. "You look like you've done your fair share of killing too."

"Why you! I will not-"

"Glynda, relax. He's got a point and if you keep this up, more Grimm will show up." The Headmaster pulls out a small white rectangular device from his jacket and opens it up sideways, a holographic screen appearing. "I've got a question for you: Where did you learn how to fight?" He turns the screen of his scroll to show the stranger fighting the Grimm with his weapon. "I'd really like to know. Not to mention the very big and unique sword you wield with such ease."

"I taught myself." He loops the chain into itself, making a knot around the Nevermore's neck. "As is the weapon I forged."

"Oh? What is your name? I'd hate to refer to you as the cloaked guy or stranger."

"The name's Tai."

"I see. What school do you come from, or what land? Surely you've been to a school of some sort."

"No, I am from none of the schools. I taught myself the art of fighting, that's all."

"Self taught enough to take down a Nevermore is enough for me. What is it that brings you here, if you are this falling 'star' per say."

"If you honestly believe that, I am looking for something important."

"I see. I take it you do not know who I am, correct?"

"Not a clue."

"I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. I run a school to train future Huntsmen and Huntresses to protect this world from the creatures of Grimm." He passes Glynda the scroll, sipping his coffee some more. "We only accept top tier students and put them into rigorous training, coming from all demographics."

"Are you asking me to go?"

"I'm asking you to consider it. It's just north of where you are, and the opening ceremony starts up tomorrow at 10 am. I will make arrangements just in case you decide to come."

"You're asking someone who could be a threat to every student in the school. Please, reconsider." Glynda pleads, the professor turning around and walking away from Tai.

"Glynda, you see a meteor come from the sky and a young man with undeniable power standing before you. I see a student who can be taught the ways of the world and directed into a goal we can all share."

"Gr… I'll trust you, but I will make sure to keep my eyes on him at all times." Glynda looks back at Tai, then down to the footage captured from him fighting.

"If he is as hostile as you made him out to be, he could have easily attacked us instead of talking." He takes tips his cup up and finishes his coffee. "Pay attention to the footage. Tell me what you find odd."

Glynda looks through it as they walks, scanning the screen for anything. "I don't see anything stranger than usual."

"Pay attention to the leaves, then tell me what you see."

"Ok…" She looks closer at all the leaves around Tai, his flaming sword stirring them up as he cuts through Grimm. "The leaves are not burning…" With his fire slicing through flesh, when embers hit the ground, they simmered out, but did not leave any scorch marks.

"This whole forest should be on fire. Yet, not one leaf is burned from his sword. I think we should not judge him so straightforwardly. Don't you agree?"

"Hmm…" Glynda continues to look through the footage, noting every leaf she could see did not ignite when they naturally should have.

Tai returns to the spot he originally came from when he fell, looking around at the destruction surrounding him and starts to walk into the groove. He stops mid stride however after a sudden chill came over him. He plants his foot back and stands there, the wind blowing in the sound of silence. Placing the hood over his head again, he looks toward his left and nothing happens for a few seconds. He continues to look but nothing still and then looks away, beginning to walk. Stepping once then twice, a large red oval portal with swirling crimson rip out of the air to his left and cause him to stop again.

*3 From this portal, nothing happens for a short time until a woman standing tall walks through it. She has raven black hair down to her lower back with a mask covering her face. It was small and merely covers her like a masquerade mask only it was similar to the mask the Nevermore has on its face. Her skin seems pale white and she wears a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She is armed with a long sheath black in color held up by a handle built into it. The woman grabs the handle of the weapon and slowly pulls out a long red imbued blade, the portal closing behind her as she does. Her sword is a long single edge blade and while pointed towards him, he pulls out his own once more.

Without a single motion, she blindingly appeared behind him and swings her sword 1 handed down on his head and he puts up his sword and blocks her with one hand, the collision breaking the ground around them. The weight shifts off of his blade and she kicks the center of his back, sending him into the crater he was in with power, sending up a dust cloud.

I didn't expect that kind of power… He walks from the crater seemingly unharmed, sword over his shoulder and stops to look at her. Bending low, Tai dashes straight at her, the woman holding the sword with 2 hands and braces herself with her legs bent. She swings downward as he gets close but Tai uses the back of his hand to swat it away from his head and grabs her neck, pushing her into and through a tree into another, holding her against it. She barely grunts and grabs his arm with his free hand, Tai keeping a solid grip. He aims the butt of his sword at her mask and as he lunges to break her mask, she dips down and avoids it, slashing upwards kicking up dust and solid ground in a single swing. Flipping down to a normal standing position, Tai stares at her under his hood.

She slides the sword into its sheath and bends down low, jetting toward him inhumanly and he holds his sword down in front of him, blocking a slash as she zoomed past him while pulling out her sword. However, she turns and chains it with another slash at his back and goes back and forth with blinding speed and then stops behind him. She slides her open sword back into the sheath and as it clicks, red slashes of fire ignite around Tai and explode. She stands up straight and looks back at the fire and smoke, examining it closely.

"…I thought you were strong enough to…" She quietly cuts herself off and looks down. From the cloud a long black linked chain shoots out and extends to her mask, hitting her directly and sends her jarring back while holding the mask with one hand. The chain retracts as it hits and the fire and smoke twirl around the spot, clearing up to reveal Tai as he walks towards her.

"Alright. Now tell me what this is about, or I will go for more than your mask." Tai warns, putting his sword back up against his shoulder. She stops moving, half the mask shattering to the ground, showing him crimson red eyes. She does not respond, sliding the sword back into the sheath and holds it as if she would lunge again. Tai just stares, a gold flame filling the hole within his onyx colored sword. The blades ignite and he takes a single step, swinging his sword down from his shoulder sending an abundance of gold fire crashing down on her. Waiting a few seconds, the fire starts to clear and she was no longer there. She is within the trees behind him and slashes out, her own flames cutting toward him and he somersaults over it, the fire crashing into the dirt and sends more flying. He looks back to her and her to him, making eye contact. Dashing to him, Tai turns toward her and lunges the tip of the sword at him.

Right as the tip gets an inch from his neck, she stops, standing there with the leaves catching up from the wind and he just looks down at her. The other half of the mask falls off and shows her whole face to him, not knowing why she was masked in the first place but now he knows what she looks like.

"Hmph…" She huffs low, turning away from him and slashes at the air, creating another black and crimson portal before her. She begins to walk away, Tai not stopping her until she gets close.

"Will you say who you are?" He asks, the woman not moving.

"…" She turns her lead to look over her shoulder, an ominous yet calm look on her face. "…you may be strong enough…" With that, she turns away from him and walks into the portal, the portal closing moments later.

"…" Tai turns away from where she was and makes his way back to the Nevermore to ready himself for the coming day.

 **The next morning…**

*4

The sun is high in the air, the partially cloudy day covering a large flying object over a vast ocean. It is a large silver airship, 4 axils of wings, 2 on both sides with 3 large thrusters flying the ship forward, its bottom containing windows holding students within the air craft. These students are heading toward a large academy surrounded by luscious green foliage with intricate buildings connected with one another with smaller columns and at its front are landing docks, welcoming the ones carried inside. As the students got off of the ship, from the sky behind them a large bird soars high in the clouds. While the events below happen, a miniature explosion catches its eyes and it continues to fly around to the west side of the docks, the bird identified as a Nevermore. The Nevermore comes from the clouds and comes close to the trees, flapping its large wings to land safely.

The Grimm has a chain wrapped around its neck, rattling as a person jumps down from its back. Still in his hood, Tai looks back to the Nevermore and holds up his left hand, the Nevermore bending down and he rubs its cracked mask.

"Wait here." He commands it, turning away and takes a few steps before he hears bushes stirring in front of him. "You are Glynda, correct?" He identifies her before she comes through, picking out a few leaves from her skirt.

"That's to you." She corrects him, holding a brown hardcover in her right hand.

"Whatever."

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't even be here right now. However, the Headmaster sees something other than your attitude and the fact you may still be dangerous so I can't do much."

"Did you come to evaluate me or just to say hi?" The Nevermore begins to stir and starts to spread its wings to attack but Tai looks back at it and the chain begins to burn, causing it to halt. "Get down." He commands and the Grimm begins to cringe, buckle then lies on its belly, nesting in its feathers starting to rest.

"I came to make sure no scene was caused and to direct you to the hall." Glynda points her stick at the Nevermore, Tai watching her carefully.

"I am capable of handling things, that's why I'm out here and not at your front door."

"I still have to make sure no one sees this Grimm on school grounds. It's against everything we do here… but I have to hide it." A purple beam flies out of her wand like pointer, wrapping around the Nevermore and creating a façade so it looks like a big boulder. "As long as the Grimm doesn't move much, it will stay hidden. You have 30 minutes to get to the hall, welcome to Beacon." Glynda turns away walks back through the small bushes again heading toward the school.

Tai looks back at the disguise then walks in the same direction, walking through trees until he sees white pavement and a bench. He holds his sheath on his side and takes a seat on the bench, sitting back on it and looks straight up to the sky.

"So this place isn't too different from the others… Humans with a different origin and different threats but in the end, they are the same core as the rest of them. I just have to find the small change that makes them, them. Perhaps that Headmaster is more than what he looks, or odd things happen so often that a meteor is the least of their concerns. They call the creatures Grimm, empty evil vessels that prey on people. My guess is that it's been a long battle between them, and they are right. I just hope the Nevermore creature is as big of a threat as they say, because if there are things bigger than that, I am going to have trouble." Students pass by, chatting with one another and laughing, all but the one which is on her own.

She has a light olive complexion, amber eyes, and long black hair walking slowly toward his direction. She has a black bow or ribbon on her head, a black button vest with coattails showing her midriff with white shorts that have zippers in the front of each leg. Wearing a black scarf, black stockings, and a black detached sleeve with a silver band on her right arm, he pays closer attention to her bow. It seemed slightly out of place for the outfit, and her eyes look sharper than a normal human's eye. As she walks passed in, he raises his left hand.

"Excuse me." He manages to get her attention, the young woman turning to him in her black heels. "Do you know how far the main hall is from here?" He stands up, putting the sheath back onto his back.

"Not far. Follow this path and you'll be there in a few minutes." She points down the path they are on.

"I see, then I might as well go with you since I am guessing you have to be there too." Tai starts walking in the direction she pointed, the girl rolling her eyes then walking behind him. "Tell me, are the humans around here always so accepting of people who are… different?"

"…" She looks at the back of his hood, wondering what he is getting at. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't think I am like them. However, I got into this school with strange circumstances." Tai clarifies.

"Are you a Faunus or something?" He turns his head to her, looking her in her eyes.

 _A Faunus…?_

"What's a Faunus?" He asks, however he changed his tone to a more curious.

"The Faunus is a race that looks human and has animalistic physical traits. Just in case you didn't know." She replied sarcastically, shaking her head as she walked.

"Are you a Faunus?"

"No."

"Hmm…ok." A wind blows, Tai seeing more students in sight along with the 2 big doors to the main area. "You got a name?"

"It's Blake." She opens up a small book and flips past a few pages while she's walking.

"Name's Tai." He turns around to her and slows his steps, stopping behind her. "Hope we meet again, Kitten."

"Huh?" Blake turns around immediately to look at him, but he is gone. She looks around through the mobbing students, moving with them uneasy until they all filed into the hall.

On top of the hall building, Tai stands near the glass looking into the room filled with all new students, wind blowing gently some more.

"A human with traits like an animal. Yet she is one, but will not admit to it. If I had to guess, they have some bad blood together. Or they could be a rare species. After all, I've looked at most of these students but I've only seen one other, a girl with rabbit ears. I thought they were some aesthetics or something, but I guess they are real." He remembers when the wind blew, the bow on Blake's head barely moving, no matter how gentle the breeze it should not have resisted so well.

"You are dismissed." Tai looks down at the glass and kneels to peer through it, seeing Professor Ozpin on a stage walking away from a microphone with Glynda at it.

"Looks like I missed the speech. But it will be ok, I don't think I missed much." The professor pushes his glasses back onto his nose, looking up directly at him. He smiles and nods, carefully walking off the stage. "Hm… He's just a bit wiser than I gave him credit for." He looks left some more and sees Glynda also looking up at him with a frown on her face. Rolling his eyes, Tai jumps down from the roof and lands quietly, walking away as the doors open once again. As some students scattered about, he explores the school grounds thoroughly, taking his time as the sun is high all the way till it sets.

*5

Walking back to the bench where he first came, he sees a girl with extremely long blond hair and an orange scarf. Her complexion is a bit darker than Blake's but not by much, definitely top heavy wearing a yellow tank top with a brown short sleeve jacket and black shorts with a brown belt around her hips. She looks up toward Tai with her lavender eyes and raises an eyebrow.

"You're not shady at all there, Mister." She shakes her head and points a thumb at herself. "Name's Yang."

"Well Yang, I think if I were really shady, I'd just walk by and say nothing at all." Tai replies.

"That's true. I didn't see you at the announcement this morning. I think I would remember an all black hood."

"I was there, but I don't think anyone knew except for a few people." Tai shrugs, looking at the opening between the trees he came from.

"You do know we have to sleep inside for tonight right? We'll get assigned dorms and stuff tomorrow. And that weapon you got there, its huge."

"It is a custom job, it took quite a while to make it."

"You made your own weapon too? My baby sister did the same thing, so I want to say you went to the same school as her?"

"No, afraid not."

"Hmm, well then what school did you come from?"

"If I told you, I wouldn't be a shady guy, now would I?"

"Riiiiight." Yang giggles and shakes her head. "I'll just refer to you as the mysterious man now."

"Got it. You may want to go inside now, right? I'm sure you have people waiting for you." He turns away from her and walks into the trees, disappearing from sight.

"Catch you later!" Yang waves at him and gets up from the bench.

Within the trees, Tai approaches a large boulder and looks around it. He reaches up to it and the illusion fades, the Nevermore looking down at him with its glowing red eyes. _That Yang... she looks like the woman from yesterday. It could be her, or someone like her relative. I should have asked while I was there. I'll find out some other time._

"You take orders well, I guess we should go further from here as well. I don't want anyone to see you since this is a Grimm free place and I don't need to get another Nevermore." He jumps onto it and the Nevermore spreads it gigantic wings. Before it could take off, Tai looks to his left and sees Glynda Goodwitch again. "First to greet me and the last, you've impeccable timing, ."

"Tomorrow, you are to report to the front once more." She looks up at him and pushes her glasses higher. "The initiation will begin in the morning and you need to be registered just like the rest of the students."

"Treating me like a student now? It warms my heart."

"You are my student and you will behave and be disciplined as such. Do you understand me?" She speaks with authority in her voice, Tai chuckling and shaking his head.

"Don't worry, I'll be there. I wouldn't want to disappoint a lady, would I?" The Nevermore begins flapping, picking them up into the air and Glynda continues to glare at him. "This place is too interesting, so you have nothing to worry about. As long as no one comes after me, I will not harm anyone." The Nevermore takes off, flying upward into the sky and twists around toward the more forest like area. "These people are going to be fun to fight, but for now, I have to lay low and remember my objective. As long as it's done, everything will be fine."

 **~Fin~**

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

This is my first attempt on a RWBY story. On top of that, this is actually canon to the story itself WITHOUT altering any key events. I am open to any criticism and would love any feedback. I have more chapters planned out weekly and I hope to become better over time. Thank you very much for making it to this point and I will catch y'all later.

Stay classy.


	2. The Emerald Forest

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a story from a different perspective of an OCC. RWBY and all RWBY characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Addition voice actor and actress for any OC has been noted beside the character to help imagery.

Option music for immersion in order:

(During The Emerald Forest Pt.1, or 2*, please skip to 0:59)

(this is a youtube link, so place youtube dot com before this link) playlist?list=PLEDOPcyFrCUoA2bb2vSAzw0EubwAyNb9X

* * *

Chapter 2

Enter the Emerald Forest

*1

"Am I too early?" Staring up at Beacon Academy, the sunrise makes the landscape a warm orange and Tai scans the windows seeing a few lit here and there. "Perhaps I should go inside anyway." Entering the front doors, he wanders around the hallways passing students who are already up and about, some in groups and others running to and fro. He makes a left around a corner and bumps into another student, knocking him over. Tai didn't knock him over from strength or from being a wall, but the individual seems just that clumsy.

"Ow…" The student complains, rubbing the back of his neck. He's a blonde with blue eyes, wearing a weird white chest plate and blue jeans. "Oh, my bad." Tai reaches down and helps the young man up, he's just shorter than Tai.

"Don't worry about it."

"Name's Jaune. Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies… never mind." Jaune rubs his left shoulder pad and looks at Tai. "I take it you're new too. I was heading to the locker room, but I sort of fell on the way."

"Yeah, you can say that." Behind Tai, another student spots him and approaches him.

"Are you 2 together, or are you both as lost as me?" Jaune points behind Tai to Blake, who is standing right behind him with her arms folded. "I don't mean like 'together' together, but here at the same time. Like you are right now, but then we would all be together but not that kind and if we-"

"Jaune, was it?" Tai cuts him short.

"Yeah?"

"Relax, I'm sure we can help one another out."

"I need to talk to you." Blake says from behind him, her tone a little harsher than yesterday.

"I figured." Tai says over his shoulder. "Jaune, do you have a piece of paper?"

"Well yeah, it has my locker number on it. I wrote it down yesterday when I put my weapons away. See?" He pulls out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and gives it to Tai, Tai unfolding it to see number 63 on it.

"Do you have a pen too?"

"Sure do, check it out." Jaune also takes a pen out and hands it to him. "It's only one of the hundreds around here. There are many like it but this one is mine."

"What about that one?" Tai points behind him, Jaune turning around and he uses that moment to write an addition 6 on the end, making the number 636. "Never mind, just my imagination."

"Yeah, that pen is nothing like mine." Jaune turns back and looks at the time. "Oh no, I've got to get there fast." Right before he takes off, holds up the folded paper.

"You're gonna need this."

"Oh, right. Thanks, see you later." Jaune takes the paper and pen then rushes past them toward the presumed locker room.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Tai directs his question to Blake, walking down the hall in the same direction as Jaune did.

"Why did you ask me about Faunus yesterday? Everyone knows who they are and no one could mistake a human for one." Blake follows a few steps behind.

"What if I didn't know? After all, I've only seen one so far and it didn't look too real to me but now I know she is a Faunus."

"Of course they were real, no one would pretend to be one." She raised her voice, Tai stopping and turning his head.

"Would a Faunus pretend to be human?" Blake stops walking as well, Tai's eye looking at hers. "They have a reputation of some sort simply from the way they look and from that racism, sometimes a disguise is used. Even something simple can change your look, like a bow."

"What are you talking about? This bow-"

"Didn't move from wind at all, multiple times at that. So either you have a stiff bow or something is underneath it keeping it from moving or coming off. And if I am wrong, would you mind taking it off?" Blake glares at him, himself completely unmoved by her. "That's what I thought. Don't get me wrong, I could be over analyzing it, but your eyes say it all." He looks forward again and turns around a corner, Blake following catching up and turns the corner to see a bunch of random students, Tai nowhere to be seen.

 **Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.** The intercoms chime throughout the school, Blake still looking around then turns away, surely heading out.

*2 A few minutes later, on a cliff overlooking a large green and crisp forest, line of students each standing on strange square silver plates with crossing axes stand before Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. Ozpin looks at all of the students standing before him, looking as badass as usual in his green undershirt, black vest with gold buttons and dark green overcoat with dark green slacks along with a brown belt and gold buckle. Glynda is still as curvy in her same style clothes as the day before, but Tai is just noticing their height being this close. The headmaster is just as tall as he and Glynda is merely n inch or 2 shorter. Within coffee mug in hand, he notices Tai within the group along with other first year students, Glynda's light green eyes scanning everyone as well holding her Scroll in her left arm.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors and today, you're abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Professor Ozpin speaks with clarity and authority.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors of the assignment of teams." Glynda spoke softly, much kinder than Tai remembers. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you can work well."

"Aw…" Tai hears a young girl complain near the end.

"That being said: The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years."

"What?!" Tai turns his head to see a girl in a red gape her mouth at his conditions.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation." He turns his head to Glynda. "But our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin looks back at the students. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose 1 and return to the top of the cliff. We will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Tai understood clearly: Destroy anything, grab a relic, and return. It was fairly simple instructions, of course that doesn't make the situation easier. Jaune then raised his hand slowly.

"Yeah, um, sir."

"Good." Ozpin completely ignores him. "Now, take your positions." All of the students got into a stance of some sort, Tai looking around and sees he's near the end of the line of students.

"Uh, sir? I've got… um, a question." Jaune says nervously. A girl in a white dress wielding a rapier is launched by the silver plate they are standing on straight into the air at a 45 degree angle. "So, this landing… strategy, thing. Wh-What is it? You're, like, dropping us off or, something?"

"No. You will be falling." The student next to Tai puts up a rock out sign and gets launched, Tai putting up his hood and bends his knees leaning forward.

"Oh… I see." Tai then gets launched, the intervals about 2 seconds between each launch.

Within a minute and a half, all the students are launched, Jaune being the loudest of the bunch. Ozpin turns around, watching the students fall from the sky, Glynda checking the Scroll to make sure everything is operating smoothly.

Tai sees a variety of ways to land, from skimming the trees to being cushioned by birds. Being far more direct, Tai takes out is sword places it below his feet, riding it on the wind like a hover board. It ignites with flames and the heat helps to make maneuvering easier, skating through the tree tops and jumps off the sword, pulls it by its chain to grab its hilt and slams into the ground crating a small crater and forces trees back as well as the bushes. His eyes are closed, pulling the sword from the ground and slides it back into the sheath.

"It's this way…" He turns 45 degrees left and walks from the crater and through some bushes. After a few feet, he stops and hears a growl, a masked Beowolf with bone like spikes coming from the arms and back stalking him.

*3 "WHEEEEEEE!" He hears a girl still soaring getting dangerously close to him. Tai runs to the monster, pulls his sheath off of his back and jumps up and over it, shielding himself behind the sheath. Before the Grimm could turn, a girl riding a silver hammer smashes into its chest and sandwiches it between the hammer and Tai's sheath, crushing it and spattering blood all over the place. The ground behind Tai cracks and breaks from the force, the orange haired girl giggling from excitement. "That! Was! Awesome!" Her bright blue eyes scan the rather messy scene, jumping off her hammer and Tai's sheath, collapsing her weapon into a small canister like shape and puts it on her waist, a pink heart on its bloody center.

*4 "That was reckless, really." He stands up to full height and places the sheath on his back, the girl looking at him.

"I guess you're my partner, huh?" Her chipper mood drops faster than she did, her white shirt, detached arm sleeves and pink tip-less gloves drooping forward. "I wanted Rin…"

"We are not partners."

"What? Of course we are! Professor said-"

"The first person you make eye contact with." Tai reminds her, pointing to his face. "My eyes are closed."

"Oooooh…" She fixes her posture, fixes her pink pleated skirt and holds out her right hand. "I'm Nora!"

"Tai." He walks passed her hand and heads to where he believes the ruins are.

"Ok then. You wouldn't have happened to see a guy in green around here would you? Of course not, your eyes are closed. That is probably why you didn't see my hand there." She follows behind him, talking rather fast, then she gasps. "WAIT! Is that your strategy to find your partner? Are you both keeping your eyes closed and trying to find each other like a Jedi mind trick? Oh! Or maybe you two are actually blind and openingyoureyeswouldbepointlessandIreallyamyourpartnerbutIdon'tknowityetand…" Her words blended together at such a rate that he lost focus on where he is. She seemed to drone on for quite a while, talking about her plans to find Rin and the events of this morning.

On the edge of a small clearing, he opens his eyes in that direction and sees a young man in green with 2 pistols fighting a large black serpent Grimm. Guessing this was the Rin she spoke of, he closes his eyes and turns back to her. Not paying attention, she continued talking as she already was.

"I can't believe you are able to walk with your eyes closed and we didn't even run into a Grimm! Not one single monster!"

"Nora."

"Yes?" Tai walks up to her and grabs onto her waist, Nora looking down at his hands then back at him. "Uh…"

"Sloths are usually in the trees. If I put you into a tree, maybe Rin will find you."

"That's a great idea! I should've thought about that, maybe you are as smart as him! Seeing how we've been together, but not like that kind of together. Not saying you're not handsome, you're quite handsome but I mean there's Rin and he's totally cool. Of course no one has ever held me like this before even though this isn't romantic and…"

"…" He sighs as she speaks and throws her up above him into the tree branches, walking back the way he came.

"THANK YOU!" She yells, Tai putting up a hand and disappearing into a thick brush of leaves.

Walking to a small hill, he looks down and opens his left eye, spotting the ruins. They are a small manmade rock formation crumbled down with small pillars in a circle, most of them having pieces on top of them, symbolizing the relics. "Found it."

Back on the cliff where it all started, Glynda approaches the professor from behind and scans her Scroll checking on everything.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Rin." She taps the screen and it brings up their meeting. "Poor boy… I can't possibly imagine those 2 getting along. Still, he's probably better off than ."

"Mhmm…" Professor Ozpin looks at Glynda then back to his screen.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." She shuts off her Scroll then turns and walks away. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current rate, they should be reaching the temple in just a few minutes. Speaking of which: what did you use as relics this year?" Glynda stops and looks back at him. "Professor Ozpin?"

He did not respond, sighing as he looks at his screen which has a young girl in a black and red hood sitting on the ground while a girl in white paces around her. Glynda brings up her Scroll again and monitors Tai whom is alone.

"I also find it coincidental that you had an odd number of students, leaving Tai on his own even though he arrived first. And exploiting your rules is unheard of. It's smart, but still. The chances of him being paired up are very slim if he knows the rules before him. What will you do if he cannot form a team?"

*5 "Chess pieces?" He walks up to each of them, seeing there aren't 2 knights, rooks, and the like, but 4. So if a pair came here, they'd pick up similar pieces and 3 of them are gone. Although, he sees them in black and gold but he sees a single pawn. He guesses that people have come and taken the kings and queens, and even a pawn or 3 but there is one left. "Is it possible I can be on my own? Or is this a mistake…" He picks up the golden pawn piece, looking at it carefully. "A Pawn, the throwaway piece, stepping stone, path maker, you name it. It has the most pieces in a game and most players don't care for them, but a Pawn is the most powerful, as it can gain the ability of any piece on the board, all but the king it will claim. Plus I picked it up and I don't think I can switch now." He places the Pawn into his hood, walking through the crumbled doorway and jumps up onto a cliff.

Walking a few steps, he hears branches breaking and a dragging sound. Walking passed a tree he sees blood smeared on it, crouching and quieting his steps, poking his head through some bushes. He sees a small group of monsters similar to the one from earlier, but accompanied with them is an oversized scorpion with white scales and blood covered yellow stinger. On the ground are golden Pawn 'relics', covered in and bit of blood and an Ursa munching on something. Looking closer, he sees a human arm being swallowed, Tai rolling his eyes.

*6 "At least I'm not paired with some weaklings, I guess." The Grimm turns to him immediately, Tai walking out of the bushes and recovers the other pieces. "They were serious about dying here huh? Well, makes my life here easier." The largest Grimm howls and jumps at him, Tai pulling out his sword and slices through its neck in one motion, letting it fall behind him. The giant scorpion scuttles toward him, knocking away the small Grimm and snaps its pincers at him. "You done?"

The Grimm scorpion, Deaths Stalker, swings its left pincer, Tai jumping onto it and then straight onto its head, slamming his sword onto its masked face, but it bounces back unable to cut and he jumps off of it, getting behind it.

"That's a hard shell, similar to an exoskeleton..." The Death Stalker turns around, lifting its tail and swinging it down at him repeatedly, Tai slowly walking backwards while narrowly dodging the stinger. The stalker is persistent, jabbing faster and faster keeping Tai on his toes waiting for an opportunity. Finally seeing one, Tai jumps forward onto the tail while extended, running up its tail and jumps behind it again, seeing its underside not as armored as its top. Before the Stalker turns around again, he hops onto a tree branch and flings himself upward, pulling apart his swords and they both ignite, then comes down onto the shell with a bang, landing both blades onto it head. It staggers and shakes Tai off, a small crack on its shell. Tai looks up to its stinger creating a simple plan to kill it: cut the stinger off then use it to break into the shell.

Paying too close attention to the stinger, the Death Stalker uses its right pincer to slap Tai backwards, running him through 2 trees with the single swing. Sitting up from the hit, Tai stands back up and frowns as the Death Stalker makes its way to him, hissing and snapping its pincers. Gripping his swords tighter, the flames become more bright and golden, and the chain on his arm glowing hot as well. The Stalker jabs at him again with its stinger, Tai swinging his sword in his left hand to bat away the stinger and using his right to cut the stinger off. The Grimm backs up, swinging its pincers around from the sudden pain, Tai running up to it and uses both swords to cut off its left pincer completely then severs its right in one motion. Leaving the Death Stalker weaponless, he swings the sword connected with the chain on his right arm around his head, creating a blur of flames above his head. Using the momentum, he swings it around and hits the Death Stalker on its left side, cutting into it and knocking it sideways then onto its back, its legs flailing greatly from distress while exposed.

With its soft underside is up, he pulls back his sword with his chain and places the swords back together, sliding it back into its sheath before taking the sheath and stands still, holding the hilt with his right hand. Tai pulls out his sword in a quick slashing motion, the flame covered sword cutting a few legs but not severing them. He puts the sword back and repeats the slashing across all the legs and jumps up above it, cutting along its underside as he landed on the other side of it. As he lands on a single knee, he stands up just a bit sliding his sword slowly into its sheath and begins to focus. It slowly becomes dark around him, a fire within the sheath growing brighter and hotter as it clicks shut. The Death Stalker flails right side up, rushing at Tai wildly with its decrepit body and Tai inhales, waiting for it to get closer. Once it's nearly on top of him, he exhales, the sword erupting from the sheath and Tai slashes downwards, sending the Death Stalker into the air in halves backwards along with the ground being uprooted around them. The intense flaming motion breaks the Death Stalker apart from the cuts and it burns into shriveled pieces until it is nothing but ashes in the air, Tai taking the sword and slides it back into the sheath, placing it on his back walks away from the gaping hole and slash in the ground, fire on the nearby trees and bushes burning bright then slowly fades away until it dissipates, the trees and bushes unsinged. Looking up, he jumps up onto a branch and scales a tree, looking for the cliff to return to. After spotting it close by, he scales it too and walks onto the plush grasses minutes later.

*7 Hearing bullets nearby, he places the hood back onto his head and walks forward, and a younger girl jumping up onto the same cliff as he with a long red hood. He's seen her before, her name is Ruby, the one who exploded from what he's heard. Keeping out of sight, he examines his pawn piece and wonders:

 _I wonder what piece she grabbed._ He looks back at her and sees her huge red scythe, examining it to see it also has a cartridge and barrel like a gun. _I wonder, perhaps she can be of use in the future._ He turns back around and starts walking away, a sudden yell catching him.

"Hey!" The voice had to be Ruby's, Tai stopping and turns his head over his shoulder. "That weapon, where did you find it? It looks so cool!"

"I made it." He replies.

"You made yours too?! I made my Crescent Rose, it's my little baby." Ruby rubs on the scythe like a mother with her child. "It's a high caliber sniper as well as a monster flesh ripping scythe. I think I went overboard with the design but it sure is rewarding."

"You made it alone?" Tai is curious now, she could be of more help than he thought.

"Yup! All students at Sigil did, just like yours. Speaking of which, what is your weapon, a huge sword like classic stuff or…?"

"It's a special sword that splits into 2 smaller swords." He pulls the sword from its sheath and pulls it apart, showing it to her. "It's a sword with 3 heads, my Infernal Cerberus. It also ignites on fire."

"That's so…sooo… AWESOME!" Her silver eyes sparkle and stare at the black blades. "Does it shoot fireballs? Or maybe even flaming bullets?!"

"It's no gun, so no. However, if you have any suggestions for what could be added, I would like to hear it." He turns around to her completely then slams them together, holding it on his shoulders. "But before that, I'd like to test you out first."

"Beg your pardon?" Ruby raises her eyebrow at the statement.

"Fight me for a while, I want to see how your weapon moves."

"Oh! Well, if you say so." The adrenaline from fighting the Nevermore still coursed through her and impaired her judgment, not taking the relic to Glynda or Ozpin. She holds her scythe out to him then slams its tip behind her, holding onto the handles with her finger on the trigger, shooting behind her and within that moment she seemed to vanish. Tai blinks and then ducks, her scythe blade swinging over his body from behind. She is incredibly fast, just managing to comprehend it is difficult. He looks back kicks her chest, Ruby gaining balance in mid air and shooting behind her to bring her right back. Tai swings his sword and she shot herself out of the way, getting to his side and shooting again as he turns, red petals around him and he holds his sword outward vertically and Ruby smacks right into its face and hits him in his side with the blunt end of the scythe. Standing uprights, she twirls the scythe around her like a baton, Tai swinging his sword around and meeting each slash of her blade. Petals and sparks fly around them, Tai igniting the sword mid swing then slams it straight down, Ruby moving out the way with ease and slams the scythe down next to him, jumping onto it.

Ruby swings her legs around to kick him over and over, Tai blocking them with one hand and each punch he tried throwing missed her barely, Ruby lying down on her scythe before shooting it out of the ground to bring her back away from him. He tries to read her, but even if he knows where she's going, following it is harder. Shooting behind her, she drags the scythe behind her and runs at a blinding speed, Tai blocking her momentum and being pushed back quite far. He swings his sword around on its chain, slashing it outwards at her and she shoots it back to him, Tai swinging it back at her as she shoots it away each time. Shooting behind her again she arches the scythe backwards and flies at him, Tai sliding his swords into the sheath quickly inhaling.

"That's enough!" A voice yells, Ruby thrown off balance and stumbles trying to slow down, Tai stopping his attack and braces himself, Ruby smacking into him and he falls to the ground with her.

"Ow…" Ruby holds her head and sits up straddling on top of him, her scythe collapsed and looks up to see Glynda frowning at them. " ! I can explain!"

"I don't want to hear it. Young women should not be on men like that." Glynda points to Ruby still on Tai, Ruby instantly standing and blushing.

"Sorry! It's just that we were fighting and I-"

"I know. Luckily, another one of your colleges came up here already. You should thank ." Glynda points out Blake who is standing next to her.

"Blake, what are you doing here?" Ruby points to her.

"Turning in the relic, like you were supposed to." She points out, and then looks over toward Tai.

"No, it's my fault. I started it so do not be mad at her." Tai says while slowly sitting up. "Thank you, it was fun while it lasted." Tai stands up fully and turns away from them.

"There will be plenty of reasons in the future to be upset with you, I'm sure." Glynda says while looking down at her scroll. Anyway, I think you've all done well in this so Tai, I…" She looks up to see Tai is gone, Ruby looking around as well.

"He does that." Blake shrugs and walks away, Ruby still looking around.

"Wait! You know that guy?" Ruby calls out, running after Blake. Glynda rolls her eyes, looking back into her scroll.

"These kids… I am going to have headaches a plenty this year, I'm sure." Glynda sighs.


	3. A Motive or A Goal

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a story from a different perspective of an OCC. RWBY and all RWBY characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Addition voice actor and actress for any OC has been noted beside the character to help imagery, or here.

Reminder: Tai is voiced by Robert McCollum, who's played roles like Kazuma from Kaze No Stigma.

* * *

 **A Motive or A Goal**

Deep within the Forest of Forever Fall near the site of Tai's landing, Tai sits on the edge of the small cater, looking up to the sky. It's a starry night, unlike when he landed, and with the moon in its crescent shape it is very peaceful night. Behind Tai is the Nevermore, sleeping and breathing heavily in its nestled state. Tai's sword is on his left, lying on the ground within its sheath and its chain leading toward his right arm.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" Tai says to himself, lying back onto the Nevermore and takes in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "You know what? I still cannot sense who I am searching for and I have no idea where to start… That usually happens anyway, this isn't my first travel to another place but it's been the most welcoming. I wonder what they think I am."

"That's precisely what I came to find out." A voice chimes from the shadows, a figure walking toward him.

"Ah, the knowledgeable and badass professor." Tai smirks while looking up still, Professor Ozpin walking slowly with his cane and chuckles.

"I don't know about the second part but I am flattered." Ozpin stops and looks up to the sky as well. "I came to find out some things about you but I see you contemplating already."

"What is it you want to know? I've nothing to hide, you can even call it prideful. However I won't just tell anyone for no reason."

"How about your origin, where is it you came from?"

"Hmm… Well, I came from somewhere called Paradiso. In a sense, you could call it Heaven, but not the Heaven you are too familiar with."

"That's quite a start. That would make you something equivalent to an angel then, correct?"

"In a way. I'm tied to them from my own world, as well as the demons that are their counterparts."

"Why did you fall?"

"I didn't fall, I chose to come down. However, I cannot choose the world I am going to, so it's a gamble. I can come to a world like this, normal with common human life and human conflicts or something far more primitive and dark. Either way, I have to find something I lost and regain all the pieces . I've been doing it for some time now but I still am close to finished."

"And what you have lost is part of you? That must be difficult." Ozpin lifts his mug and sips his coffee, sounding understanding and calm.

"It's not a part of me I've lost, it's a partner I had. You see, something happened and long story short, i fucked up and her soul was broken and scattered throughout worlds and space, so, I made it my mission to find every last piece and bring her back. And no, this is not a love partner, she was my sister."

"I will not ask about the 'universe' notions, but how can you find these pieces?"

"The pieces of her soul are small and fragile, but very strong. They are no bigger than a ball that could fit in your palm." Tai lifts his hand and puts it up to the moon. "The piece enters a random female, specifically a female, and embeds itself into them, giving that individual more power than they actually have. To the dominate species of the worlds, usually humans, that person is simple stronger for 'some' reason or have great influential power, be it good or bad."

"I see." Ozpin murmurs, looking down to Tai. "So if I am to understand this: you live your life going to places of the unknown, searching for your partner without hesitation and after you find it, leave just to do it again."

"That sums it up. It's like trying to grab the moon sometimes. You know it's there and it's so much bigger than you, but no matter how hard you try, you just can't reach up and grab it."

"What of the Sun?"

"Screw that, it's too damn hot." Tai clutches his hand like he's grabbing the moon, laughing a bit with Professor Ozpin. "You are taking all this extraordinarily well, you know that?"

"Understanding is key before you can make progression. I think your story is quite noble and also sad. You have to leave behind so many comrades that you could've made."

"That's true, but you get used it."

"That does not make it any less that what it is. Do you ever go back to your home?"

"No. I will not go back until I have finished my mission."

"It may not be my place to ask..." Ozpin takes a second to gather his thoughts before his question. "Do you think this is what your sister would have wanted?"

"I don't know what she would have wanted or if she ever forgave me. But what happened happened. I can still fix this then she can tell me herself."

"I see…" He sips his coffee again and pulls out a Scroll from his jacket. "Then you will need a place to stay, as well as a way to get around."

"I have this." Tai points to the Nevermore he's lying against, Ozpin shaking his head.

"Something you can actually use in the open, perhaps? There is a garage on the campus that no one uses. It has a few old model car pieces and motorcycle parts as well as the tools necessary for making or fixing anything up. Provided you have the knowledge of using them."

"Of course, I've always had something like that in each place, though the models and tools can vary greatly. I'm sure I can figure it out."

"Good! Now, I have this for you. It's a Scroll. A device used to communicate and do various things like holding information, identification, and the like." Ozpin passes it to Tai, Tai catching it out of the air then looks at it carefully. "Inside is already my contact as well as Glynda's. If you want others, you'll have to get it from them."

"Is that so?" Tai leans forward, opening the Scroll and scans it as windows come up seeing a small picture of Glynda Goodwitch and presses on it. A few moments later a small bar pops up with a red spectrum line next to her name.

"Hello?" Her voice comes through loud and clear, Tai closing the Scroll and sees it can also work closed like a phone. It sounded like she's standing in an empty area as well like she's alone or on speaker.

"Hello Glynda, it's Tai."

"Oh. You've met with Professor Ozpin then. Do you still have any questions?"

"Yes. I want to know where the garage is on campus."

"Approaching the school, it's on the right hand side along the lot. I'm sure you'll find it."

"Thank you, I should find it by morning time then if I head there now."

"Is that all?"

"Oh, I wanted to let you know you are gorgeous and a great person to be around."

"Mhmm… If that will be all, I've got to be going now."

"She doesn't work well with complements, does she?" Tai directs his question to Ozpin, only receiving a shrug.

"Thank you." He hears her sound slightly irritated, Tai chuckling to himself. "I've got to get back to something now."

"Wait!"

"What is it?" She sounded a bit more pissed now.

"Have you met anyone who is incredibly strong or surprised you with power as of late?" Tai sounded serious, a brief silence hanging in the air.

"Yes, actually. I do not know who it was, however, she possessed very strong fire capabilities and has amber eyes. Her dress was red and she wore heels, her figure older and mature, but that's all I managed to analyze."

"How long ago?"

"A week."

"Thank you very much. That will be all." He frowns, picturing this woman in his head.

"Yes si-." She ends the call to cut herself off, Glynda standing in a small garage filled with various auto parts. She blinks and frowns, putting a hand to her chest. "Yes sir?" She does not know why she said that nor why she felt compelled to answer him either way.

"Thank you as well, Professor Ozpin. You've been very hospitable to someone or something you didn't even know." Tai says while standing up, brushing off his hood.

"You are going to need help, so who better to provide it? I think we can both benefit from this and you will need a place. I had Glynda pick out a room as well as clothing for you, the information inside your Scroll. You are on your own team as well, for now, although it is unheard of."

"A 1 man team is unheard of? Well, I'd hate to surprise anyone but I do a damn fine job on my own."

"It is only temporary. We will discuss any future teammates. That will not mean you're exempt from classes."

"Heh, I figured as much. Learning your history is important too right? So really, I should be thanking you." Tai nods to Ozpin, Ozpin turning around and starting to walk back.

"I will show you where you'll be staying for your time here. I hope your search is fruitful, Tai."

"Allucard. Tai Allucard." He tells Ozpin, following him, pulling his sword with him.

* * *

 **The next morning…**

The Sun rises over the horizon, illuminating the academy and its serene trees and crystal clear waters. The sunlight peeks into each room that allows it, certain rays shining into Tai's room. Already, the young man is standing in the center of a red and brown circular rug, adorned in the Beacon school uniform. It's a black suit lined with gold and 2 gold buttons on the top, a white shirt underneath a blue vest and a neat red tie. Tai looks at himself in a full body mirror, examining himself and sighs. He removes the jack and vest, undoing the tie and tossing it away. He throws the blue vest away and puts the jacket on, keeping it open. He smells like a fresh shower, with a hint of spring pleasant but not overwhelming, his hair a bit wild but pushed back and the silver streak glowing with health.

"Much better." Tai says to himself, pleased with the small touches he made. Dress code or not, he's sure he isn't breaking any rules by not wearing a tie or vest. Walking toward his queen sized bed covered in black blankets, his weapon sits on a small metal stand and with good reason. It is far heavier than it looks due to its metal and size. Putting it on the wall or a locker would cause damage he could not pay for, or so he believes. He's indebted to Glynda and Ozpin so he definitely doesn't want to cause anymore problems if he could help it. He looks around his bed for a small single strap bag with a few textbooks and pencils in it. On the black bag is a small feather designed on it in gold, resembling a Nevermore feather, no doubt hand woven by someone with talent. He picks it up, slings it over his neck and walks out of his door, Scroll in hand. Turns out, it can lock doors too.

As soon as he closes the door, he hears a ruckus within a room a few meters down like someone is constructing something. Shrugging his shoulders, he walks down the hall and straight down the stairs and is outside, walking alongside a pool. Looking right, he sees Professor Ozpin and Glynda together, walking on a small catwalk to another building. They look down at him and he nods toward them, continuing to walk and heads right to class. Not too long after they make their way to the opposite side of the pool, 9 more students are running in the same direction, Ozpin sipping his coffee and Glynda checking her watch to see if they'll make it to class.

In the classroom, Tai sees a hefty man in a red suit, grand mustache, and grey bowl cut hair. Tai takes his seat at the second to last row of seats near the top, able to see each thing in class. There's a white board with marker drawings along with the names of said creatures, like the Nevermore next to the pictures of Nevermore and Boarbatusk next to a boar like creature he's seen before. Later on, the rest of the class arrived, him seeing everyone from the previous day except for a few males and females he hadn't met. After everyone is seated, the lecture began and he immediately regrets coming.

"Monsters." The teacher began, or continued, Tai could not tell, his voice gruff and proud. "Demons… Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them as prey! Hah ha! Ha-ha." There is a silence, Tai trying to find where the joke even started, perhaps he left it in the hallway… "Ah…And you will too upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying…"

So Tai did doze off at some point, he just didn't remember when.

"Vale, as well as the other 3 kingdoms are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely seething with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in." He spoke while pacing, Tai watching him walk back and forth while resting his head in his palm. "Huntsmen! Huntresses…" He points to some of the females in the room and clicks at them, one of them being Yang who laughs nervously at his comment. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what you ask? Why… the very world!" The teacher shoots his arm up in excitement. "That's what you are training to become. But first… a story."

"Nope." Tai says to himself and lays his head down fully, falling asleep moments later. Time passing by, he wakes up due to a squeal that he hears, sitting up straight away and shakes his head. Looking back toward where the teacher was, he sees a Grimm instead with a hole in its chest, dead while a girl stands over it. She wears a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-length dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The back of the bolero has a large white snowflake. She also is as pale as her clothes with cold blue eyes, wearing white, heeled wedge boots that go to mid calf, plus the insides are also lined with red like the jacket she wears. Her long white hair is pulled back in an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She has a pale complexion and ice blue eyes. With a crooked scar down her left eye, she looks like an all around ice type of person, in personality or skill maybe. She's certainly more petite than other females he's seen like Blake or Yang so she could be the angry one.

"That will be all for today. You are dismissed!" The teacher roars, all students getting up and slowly headed out, Tai walking behind the group then heading back the way he came.

"Let's try that garage actually." Making a left at the pond like area, he scans the school until he sees a large steel garage door, closed and seeming to be locked. He looks around and sees a scanner on the wall next to the large door, placing his Scroll on it and it beeps, opening the garage door seconds later. Inside is a large spacious garage, motorcycle frames, tires, windows, and general parts along the left wall while on the right is a single car frame with scattered pieces within them. The walls had shelves with tolls for days, from screw drivers to automatic saws to torch blowers. Near the floor are oils, anti freeze, and general lube for chains, a car jack, alligator clips of all types and more.

"There's a lot of older tools in here along with some newer stuff too. I think I'll just make a motorcycle, but first things first…" Tai look over to the single car which still has plenty of pieces in it. "I have to dismantle this stuff. I might as well try it a bit while I'm here." He takes off the backpack and the jacket, hanging it near a saw hanging on the wall and gets to the hood of the car, grabbing a hold of it and rolls it to the center. Very. Very. Slowly. He didn't want anyone to see him just pushing cars around, even if it's a school for fighters. Getting a nearby jack, he lifts the car up enough for him to get under it, walking around collecting wrenches and a small grey towel from a steel table. It had to be from Glynda as they are neatly folded and new, unlike everything else in the room. It is much warmer than he wants it to be, not that heat bothered him, but since he wants to not attract attention, he rolls up his sleeves up to his elbows and unbuttons the shirt he has. Oil could drip and he'd rather it be on him and not on the shirt, even if there are more. It stains.

Looking close by under the steel table it a small skateboard, pulling it out and placing it back on the ground, laying on it exposing his athletic figure and abdomen then disappears under the car.

"Wait… I need music." Tai comes back from the car and takes out his Scroll, surely it can play music. Finding a few tracks, he makes a small playlist and places it on the floor, the Scroll not playing the music until a few seconds later, even mock songs were in there from questionable artists. "Let's hope I can do... something." The music volume slowly becomes louder over time.

Getting under the car, he sees plenty of pipe and sure enough, some looked more valuable than others. He takes in a deep breath, the feeling of honest working making him feel comfortable. An hour passes, Tai still under the car not even aware of the time. The music attracts 2 sets of feet that he does not see, but he continued to work on the care unaware of the visitors.

It's both Blake and Yang, both still in their student uniforms.

"This is where the music is coming from, see?" Yang points down to the Scroll next to Tai's feet. "I like it, actually. Hey mister, what's the song name you have there? I swear I've heard it before."

"Uh, Yang?" Blake says over the rather loud music.

"What?" Yang cups one of her ears towards Blake.

"I don't think he can hear you." She says looking at her, Yang returning a puzzled look.

"What?!"

"I said I don't think he can hear you!" Blake begins shouting, cupping her mouth toward Yang.

"I can hear you just fine!" She yells and then looks back to Tai on the ground. "I don't think he can hear us though!"

"Ugh!" Blake slaps her own face, sighing quietly. Yang pokes Tai's leg, making Tai stop his wrenching and places it down, rolling from underneath with the towel around his neck. By this point, he's sweating bullets from more than being under the car. His shirt is still unbuttoned and damp dirt in random places, he feels like a mess but to the 2 young women looking at him, they are star struck. Standing up to full height, Yang and Blake are both standing there with their mouths open, Blake shaking her head trying to focus while Yang simply stared some more.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asks the 2 girls, Blake looking at Yang who should be drooling at this point and nudges her side with her elbow, Yang focusing again and shakes her head.

"I'm Yang!" Yang shouts suddenly, Tai raising an eyebrow then picks up his Scroll, pausing the song.

"I know, you've told me before." Tai tells her, putting the Scroll inside his pocket.

"I think I would have remembered you." Yang puts her hands on her hips, looking Tai up and down.

"Yeah, I was the guy in the hood the day before initiation." Yang jumps a bit from the connection, scratching her head.

"That was you?"

"Yes. I met Blake as well, right Kitten?" Tai asks, Blake immediately connecting him with the elusive guy she knew and frowned.

"I know, Tai." Blake sways her hips and places her hands on her hips, Yang suddenly gripping Blake's shoulders.

"WHOA! What's this 'Kitten' he's talking about here?" Yang gets in her face, Blake trying to back up from her. "Have you been holding out on me?"

"What are you talking about? He calls me that because…" Blake starts to think, trying to figure out how to approach this. "..actually, I don't-"

"I thought we were teammates! You've been hogging a hot guy to yourself?!" Yang squints at her, pointing a finger at her. "No wonder you are so quiet, you must be thinking of the next time you can see him. If you had a boyfriend already, I-"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Blake declares, cutting Yang off. Yang looks at Tai, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not her boyfriend?" She asks him.

"Nope." Tai smiles at Yang, her heart becoming lighter and her face becoming more and more pink.

"Well, sorry about that." Yang apologizes to Blake, letting her go and holds her hand out to Tai. "I'm Yang."

"You've said that already." Tai laughs, grabbing and shaking her hand firmly. "Name's Tai. Why'd you come over here?"

"Oh yeah. I have no idea." She looks back at his face then chest again, Blake rolling her eyes more resistant.

"The music you had, what was it?" Blake nudges Yang again causing her to shake her head.

"Hi, you're cute and I'm Yan-" Blake covers Yang's mouth, Yang mumbling still.

"This is the second time you've oogled over a guy. You sure you're ok?" Blake directs it to Yang, Yang shaking her head.

"Just because I know good looking when I see it doesn't make me sick!"

"Anyway… it's a random playlist I made. I'm not used to the Scrolls yet." Tai takes it out of his pocket and opens it up, handing it to her. "If you can work it, go for it."

"Hmm…" Blake takes the Scroll and browses through it, searching the songs easily. "What's this one?" Before her eyes, the Scroll disappears as well as Yang, Blake looking around then sees Yang next to Tai.

"You like party songs? I know a few." Yang goes through the Scroll, Tai shrugging his shoulders. He takes the Scroll from her, looking at some songs she put up.

"Are you sure about these?" Tai asks, going through more songs and Yang nods.

"Some are better than others, but they are good."

Pressing on one, Yang smirks and Blake looks between the 2, pulling Yang away and taking the Scroll away and begins blushing.

"What is this?" Blake demands, Yang winking at Tai.

"It's a good song. It's a whole lot of fun to dance to." Yang purrs at Tai. "Just so you know, I'm single."

"You've been drooling over one guy, and now this one. Can you…" Blake stops herself and when she hears the song lyrics, immediately skips to the next one with a crimson blush on her face.

Taking it back from them, he keeps the Scroll in his hand and looks at them both. Neither of them are bad to look at, in fact Yang is quite busty, even behind the vest and shirt. They both are mature and are young women filling out great and it confuses him that they are both single. Usually, young women are pair up with someone by now. Surely another guy has to be getting turned down by them on a daily basis. Tai wasn't interested like that in them anyway, he would leave before forming any relationship like that anyway. During his thoughts, behind the 2 women is a pair of red eyes and silver tusks in nearby bushes. Tai takes the wrench in his hand and throws it between the girls' heads, causing them to back away from the flung tool and a loud clang ringing in the air.

"What was that?" Yang points at him then directs her attention behind her and sees a Boarbatusk coming from the bushes.

"How'd a Grimm get here?" Blake looks at it then Tai's who simply shrugs.

Yang smiles and shrugs. "I don't have my weapons with me, so we can do this hand to hand... or paw... whatever."

"It's fine. I'll take care of it." Tai walks near the car and pulls out an exhaust pipe.

"Nope! I'm helping." Yang holds up 2 large heat resistant gloves with metallic knuckles on them. Blake has a long alligator clip in her hands with the battery in arms.

"When did you… Whatever." Tai shrugs and the Boarbatusk charges into the garage, Yang punching it between the eyes, sending it back into a tree passed the small driveway area in front of the garage.

"You'll see, I can handle myself." Yang punches her fists together. Her hair began to glow for a split second then returned to normal, Blake standing next to her. The Grimm rolled up and begins spinning like a spiked wheel, kicking up dirt before it ran into them. Blake and Yang jump over it but it continued to Tai. He puts up the pipe and blocks it, the Grimm grinding the pipe until he pushes it unto the air, causing the Grimm to unravel and he thrusts the bar into its chest, hitting it back into the middle of the 3 students. Blake twirls the clip around herself and throws it into the tusk of the Boarbatusk, sending electricity through its body making it squeal.

Yang jumps up and onto it, Blake pulling the clip back and Yang punches its jaw repeatedly, making sure to knock its lights out but it flails hard between her legs. It tears into her skirt and scuttles away, spinning up again and rolling at her just so she bends and dodges it. It comes around and repeatedly swipes passed the 2 women, tearing at various parts of their uniforms and making them dizzy. Tai intercepts it once it stops spinning, pinning it straight to the ground and slams its head in once, looking back at the 2. There clothing is still intact, saving for the now exposed midriff, various parts of cleavage and bras, and some stocking cuts.

"Whoa…I almost got dizzy looking at the…" Yang stops herself as she sees in front of her a single strand of blond hair floating down.

"Yeah, I saw." Tai picks up the creature by its neck, Yang punching her glove covered fists again. Her hair is golden and bright and her eyes are red, staring at the Boarbatusk. Blake drops her 'weapon' and covers her breasts as they are more exposed while Yang runs straight at the Grimm, Tai raising an eyebrow.

"RRRAAAAAHHHH!" She cries while punching the Grimm's chest so hard, the body is sent into the ground and bounces up from force. Tai backs up from her, Yang punching the Grimm repeatedly into the ground, cracking its shell more and more until it broke off, Yang punching its head straight into the ground and its head caves in. She punches it a few more times out of rage and breathes heavily, Blake hitting her in the back of the head softly. "What? I was gonna stop." She calms down, looking down at the corpse then at Tai. "Uh…sorry?" She puts up a thumbs up sign, smiling sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry, you did great. Sorry about your clothes though." Tai puts the pipe away and Yang looks down at her ripped up shirt, showing her cleavage and some parts of her bra.

"Oh, it's fine. Now you can say we are even right?" Yang smirks and points to Tai who is still in his open shirt.

"I guess so. But I think you should at least get changed before too many people see you." Tai suggests as he collects the alligator clips. "You too Blake, but I think you're a bit more modest so you already know." Blake looks at him up and down, still covering half of her bra, leaving one exposed.

"Yeah…" Blake walks passed him, grabbing a hold of Yang's collar and dragging her away.

"W-Wait!" She yells at Tai while being dragged away. "Err…call me if you ever wanna do stuff!" She cried around the corner. As she turned, she took her Scroll and takes a picture of him. A few seconds later, Blake pokes her head around the corner.

"… You can call me if you want." Blake looks at him with a small smile on her face and a blush across her features, going back to pulling Yang to their room.

"Hm…" Tai looks in his Scroll and sure enough, both Yang and Blake are able to be contacted. "Ha, wonder when they did that." He goes back to sitting back on the board and gets ready to work on the car again when another set of feet show up. He looks up to see the teacher from earlier. " ."

"Why hello, young man! Working on automobiles, are we?" He is loud and proud as he'd been earlier.

"Yes sir. What are you doing here, if I may ask?"

"Oh, just seeing how the events unfolded." He raises his right eyebrow. "It seemed to go rather nicely."

"That Boarbatusk was yours, I take it?" Tai sits back up and exams his teacher. "Do you always let Grimm attack at random students?"

"Of course not! Only the most ready of students can combat these creatures. And I'm proud to be the teacher of such ready students!"

"Is that really what happened?" Tai is skeptic about the teacher, receiving a look of interest.

"You are perceptive, indeed. Just as I was when I was a young, strapping lad. Well, surely you have gained something from this, have you not?"

"I'm not following. You let out a Grimm out, which is a dangerous creature, just so I could gain something?"

"Yes! Comrades." He exclaimed bluntly, putting up a finger.

"Comrades? You did that so I can meet people I already know?"

"You know them all the better, don't you?" He points out, leaning forward. "These creatures not only bring death, but cooperation among men. And you have lost nothing, correct?"

"Hmm… I guess so." Tai leans back and goes under the car.

"Jumping into action like that brought a smile to my face. Your family must be proud."

"I do not have a family." Tai responds, raising his eyebrow.

"You have suffered a heavy loss, it seems."

"I've gotten over it." Tai resumes cranking at parts in the car.

"Then why are you here?" The question makes Tai stop. "If you are over it, then coming to this school would be pointless. You should learn humility, Tai. You can use the loss to fuel you and make you stronger. As a motivator, or a goal of a powerful lesson. Which is it for you...?"

"..." Tai sighs to himself then slides into the open. "Both I guess. Right now, I'd like to finish this for today."

"Ah yes, making a sweet ride for your lady friends?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Now, let me tell you a story about how I met the ladies of my day." He coughs in his hand, preparing his throat for a speech of considerable size. "When I was a young man…" Tai zones him out, grabbing a wrench and going back to work.

 _The man is smart but he can drone on forever, it seems. But my story is like anyone else, it'll end at some point, but you'll never know when. Maybe I'll contact Blake and see what she thinks._


	4. Cinders and Embers

**Cinders and Embers**

"Ma'am, I think we found him." A young woman's voice chimes.

"What do we have, then?" The response comes from a more mature woman.

"6 and a half feet tall, light brown complexion, and a big sword."

"How big?"

"Very. His name is Tai Allucard, seen mostly in the forest of Forever Fall. What should we do?"

"I say we wait until night comes. Then we go have a little… chat."

"When do we depart?"

"Oh, do not worry. I'm going too, just for more persuasion."

"Oh, ok. Is he really that valuable?"

"He's a falling star, a meteor, not from around here. I think he's a bit valuable, yes."

"I'll make sure to track him down for you when we get there, ma'am."

"Good girl. For now, we just wait."

* * *

Meanwhile, within the Beacon Academy, Tai approaches the cafeteria, a large hall with high ceilings filled with brown tables linked together in rows, most of the students in the school held within here. Some are on a line with trays in their hands and various food bits. Tai walk up to the back of the line, grabbing a tray then carefully looks over the food selections as he slowly walked down with the line. Once he gets to some wonderful smelling baked ziti, he grabs a few spoonfuls of it along with smaller broccoli in the vegetable area of the line.

"I think that's good." He looks at his full tray, turning back toward the main area and scans for an empty table, seeing only a few scattered here and there. While scanning, he sees the various teams sitting together, such as Jaune's team sitting with Ruby's, and so on. Sitting at a table about 4 down from that group, he looks at his food and takes a deep breath, students passing by him occasionally.

"Isn't that the guy on a one man team?" Some would chime quietly, Tai poking at the food testing its quality.

"How's he going to compete in the Vytal Festival on his own?" Tai has heard of this 'Vytal Festival' a few times already, but he doesn't see how a team is relevant to a festival, unless this festival is not what he thinks. Dismissing the thoughts, he puts his fork in the pasta and as he lifts its cheesy goodness, he hears unpleasant groaning.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"See? I told you they are real!" Tai looks passed his food to see a big guy holding onto the ear of a female student. The male is Cardin Winchester, a tall strong built student with indigo eyes and a burnt orange hair color. With a light complexion and bright white teeth as he smiled in satisfaction of overpowering another, the one he's teasing is the Faunus Tai saw before. Her name is Velvet, not knowing her enough to know her last name. She's a rather small woman, wearing the same school uniform except her tie is replaced with a bow and she's wearing brown leggings with a look of pain on her face. The brown eyed brunette tries moving away from Cardin, her ear in his grip.

Tai frowns, placing his fork down and places his hands together, seeing someone else walk up to Cardin. He did not want to cause a scene; in addition, he knows sparring is happening today again. Surely, he will simply teach him a lesson then.

 _Velvet didn't seem to bother him at all, so I'm guessing he is just being a bully. She doesn't seem like a pushover though, I wonder why she didn't do anything to defend herself… maybe she didn't want to cause any problems either._ Tai watches her walk around the tables with her head down, nearing the table he's at. "Hey, Velvet." Her head turns to Tai, stopping to also turn her body.

"Y-Yes?" Her voice is quiet with a bit of pain in it.

 _I'm guessing her ear might hurt. She's a little smaller than I thought, so why would a big guy like Cardin pick on her? Actually… that might be why._ "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Really." She has an accent as well, Tai sighing at how low he views Cardin right now.

"Is this your first year?" Tai tries to make conversation to ease her up a bit, even if he didn't know her. He isn't trying to befriend her, but seeing her being a Faunus, it wouldn't hurt to get information from her as well.

"Oh no, it's my second." She replies, placing her tray down in front of him and taking a seat. There are a lot of vegetables on her plate.

"How was your first year here?" Tai finally takes a bite of his food, chewing slowly to measure the flavors of the ziti. _Not bad._

"It was…fine." She clearly did not want to talk, quickly picking up pieces of food and eating them quietly.

"Was it?" Tai can see bringing up the past might now be such a good idea. "Being a second year student, you must have plenty of friends."

"You can say that."

"How many, if you can count them."

"3." She must be talking about her teammates. Naturally, they would be friends by now, himself guessing being a Faunus is hard.

"Why didn't you defend yourself against Cardin? You have more skill than you appear, even I know that."

"I didn't have to… He let me go."

"Your pacifism level is amazing." Tai looks up to her brown rabbit ears, eating more of the food. Velvet sees him looking at them and rubs the back of her right ear near a small red mark. "Are ears the only way to tell someone is a Faunus or are there other ways?"

"Well, not all Faunus have ears but… the 2 most common are ears and tails."

"Do you have a tail too?"

"No."

"Well, I think you look great how you are." Tai pointed out while continuing to eat, Velvet coughing a bit while eating her food.

"Uh…*cough*…thank you? But you don't have to try and cheer me up."

"I'm not. You are genuinely cute. Besides, we both know you'd beat him in a fight anyways." Tai finishes his food, Velvet poking her index fingers together.

"You think so?" Velvet looks up him and he puts a thumb up.

"Yeah." He stands up and throws away the tray, walking out of the cafeteria, Velvet watching him go and then a few moments later, gets up and walks out after him. Cardin looks over his shoulder when Velvet leaves the room, squinting his eyes then getting up himself.

In the hallway, Tai walks slowly through with his hands in his pockets, meeting a window looking over the courtyard. _I wonder how strong she actually is. Seeing how this is her second year, she didn't get in for being a Faunus, she has to have a good degree of skill. I'll find out at some point, I'm sure._

*Snap*

The sound of a camera shot pulls him away from his thoughts, turning around to see Velvet behind him holding a camera. She snaps another picture, the camera in her hand as brown as her hair with gold trimming and a large lens.

"Uh… Pictures?" Tai raises an eyebrow, looking at the camera.

"Yeah. I love photography. See?" She shows him the pictures she took, half of his body in the first and his upper body with a confused face.

"Oh. These are… great." He did not want to tell her they aren't good, but they aren't bad either.

"You think so?" She looks at the pictures right before the camera is snatched from her from behind. She lifts her head and turns around quickly, Cardin behind her holding the camera.

"Oh man, these are garbage!" He exclaims while scanning numerous photos. "If you're gonna like something, you should try to be good at it."

"Give it back." She demands timidly, Cardin looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine, I guess you can have it back." He holds out the camera to her, Velvet reaching to grab it then he swipes it to the left. "If you can grab it, freak." Tai frowned, he didn't want to intervene but Cardin is bothering him by teasing her. He continued to move it back and forth stopping her from grabbing it, Tai reaching around her and grabbing Cardin's wrist. He is not a fan of assholes, and if it were up to him, he would have killed Cardin already.

"What the… what's your deal?" Cardin frowns, looking at Tai.

"You can grab it now, Velvet." Tai directs to her, Velvet looking over her shoulder and blushing from how close her is to her.

*Snap*

"O-ok." She reaches out and grabs it, Cardin trying to move his hand but Tai's grip hand him stationary. He squeezed on the camera instead, Velvet unable to pull it from him.

"Cardin, if you know what's good for you, I suggest you let it go." Tai warns, Cardin scowling at his remark.

"Or what? You together with this freak too?"

"If I am, would it be wise to pick on her?" Cardin's eyes get wide, feeling pressure on his wrist growing until it became a pain, loosening his grip on her camera and Velvet taking it back. "Just a warning, Cardin." He continued to squeeze Cardin's wrist, Cardin trying to pull away but fails in every attempt and drops on one knee trying to pull away.

"The next time you want to pick on her, remember that I will be there. And I will not be taking it easy on you like I am now." Cardin's hand becomes numb, trying to pull away more and more, panting hard. The sight makes Velvet giggle, only adding to his embarrassment. "Got it?" Tai lets his wrist go, Cardin flying back and hitting the ground from trying to pull away. Cardin gets up soon after, holding his wrist and shooting Tai an angry stare just to get a calm one back. He walks away from them, plotting his revenge on Tai as he walks away.

"You didn't have to do that." Velvet spoke quietly, turning around to him.

"You're right, I didn't. But he's gotta learn at some point that he can't pick on you just for being different than humans." Tai turns away, starting to walk away. "Hopefully I'll catch you around, I'd enjoy talking with you again sometime." Velvet's heart does a small flip inside her chest, smiling from the thought.

"Wait. You're Tai, right? The one man team, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's right. So feel free to approach me if you'd like whenever." Tai put his hand up and waves as he walks, Velvet looking down at the camera at the pictures. While Cardin was holding it, it had taken a picture when she looked up at Tai when he was behind her.

"Hmm…" She looks at the picture and blushes at her own blush.

*2 Making his way to his room before the next class begins, he walks into it and goes to his sword, pulling it out of its sheath. Picking up the sheath, he shakes it near the bed until a necklace drops out from it. It is a necklace with a silver half while the other is gold, meeting a small jewel. This small black jewel sits on a black plate and although the gem is small and onyx in color, it can be seen easily. Sliding the sword back in the sheath, Tai picks up the necklace and takes a deep breath, putting it on carefully and once it snaps together, the onyx gem seems to be filled with a blue and red mist. The 2 mists did not merge but instead swirled around each other balanced evenly.

Tai, on the other hand, cringed after putting it on. After a few seconds, he lets out a deep sigh, looking at his hands as he opens and closes them.

"I somehow forget each time to put this thing on. I think I need it in this world any way, otherwise we will have issues… On the plus side…" He looks out his window toward the mountains and forest areas. "Halving my own power means I can find that soul piece much faster. I just need a start of some kind to point me in the right direction, I can't be too distracted here."

"Distracted about what?" Blake's voice turns him around, seeing her stand in the doorway with some books in her arms.

"Nothing important, Blake." Tai walks away from the window and toward her. "Why are you around here?"

"Ruby forgot some of her books to class so I came and found them." Blake lifts the books up in her arms as proof.

"Do you know when more training is supposed to be happening? I heard about some festival that teams fight in earlier but I zoned out when Jaune was fighting."

"This evening. And if you are talking about the Vytal festival, that's in at the end of the year."

"I see. Thank you." Tai walks passed her and once in the hallway, makes a left to head toward his next class preemptively. "Will anyone else be fighting today, or do you have to be selected to do it?"

"It's voluntary. And it is only enough time for a few fights."

"Got it."

Later on in the day, Glynda Goodwitch is walking amongst the students to the rocket locker room. Once inside, she checks around for any changes, missing lockers, and the like.

"Excuse me, ." Tai grabs her attention and she looks behind herself then turns completely with her hands in front of her.

"How can I help you?"

"The practice from earlier, I wanted to know if I would be able to fight someone today."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot arrange that today. Perhaps the day after tomorrow, unless you have as an instructor, since I will not be here."

"I see. Well, is it possible to train somewhere on school grounds then besides that auditorium?"

"You can always train with your fellow students, but I advise it to be in a very controlled environment."

"I understand, thank you." Tai turns away and starts to walk away.

"Might I suggest a partner? Pyrrha Nikos is quite the prodigy and would be more than happy to spar, I am sure."

"Red hair, green eyes, Amazon type student?" Tai tries to recall her and nods after figuring it out. "Alright. And I would like to guess that fighting Grimm is ok to do as well?"

"I would not say it is ok, but if you are more than capable, I would not say no."

Tai walks out of the locker room, thinking of how to train without getting in trouble. _I could just go out and kill Grimm all night but I see the same ones in the area. What if I go higher up? Maybe then I can find more variety and even some bigger Grimm. Fighting other students can be benefiting but if I can't do much, then I will not be training anything but restraint. Actually… that isn't bad either._ Tai stops in the middle of the hallway and looks left through another window looking toward a large mountain.

"I will go there at night and spar in the day, then I can say I'm doing something, right? I also should make a little modification to my sword. That garage has more than car parts in it and I can even get a bit creative."

Tai spends that evening and night in his garage, from drawing blue prints to hammering molten metal pieces together. From designs of shotguns integrated in the handles to handguns attached to them, they were scrapped and remade, scribbled out and redrawn, hours of working until he finally made the decision to settle on something and gruffly work towards it until the sunlight began to rise over the horizon. Walking out of the garage with his sword in the sheath, he wipes his brow with his arm covered in a burnt tipped sleeve and sighed quietly.

"Damn, I didn't think time flew that much… In fact, what time is it…?" Tai pulls out his scroll and opens it to see 6:55 am. "Well, that gives me a solid hour and a half to sleep. I'm not tired yet but it can't hurt. I have to do some field testing today, don't I, Cerberus?" Tai looks over his shoulder to the sword, making his way all the way back to his room. "I also did some research on 'Dust' too, and I think I know what to do for clothing." Finally getting in his room, he passes his original cloak he arrived with which hangs on the wall. "It kind of works like this, just a bit more flexible." Putting his sword down onto its stand, he hops into the shower to get ready to rest clean.

 **Within the Forever Fall forest…**

"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sight see." Professor Goodwitch explains to her students as they walk down a small path of crimson leaves. Tai trails quite a bit behind, looking around this familiar area.

 _Seeing this place in the day while being escorted through it is a change. I believe the spot I landed is somewhere around here as well, in addition to that Nevermore. If these students see it, I'm certain they will try to kill it so I have to make it there first to get it out._

"We will rendezvous here at 4 o'clock. Have fun." The professor's ending order takes him out of his thoughts. The students, Team RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL, all disperse with empty jars in hand to collect tree syrup while wearing their battle gear. Still not having his own yet, Tai heads away from the group entirely, walking back to check where he originated. As he walks, some trees looked burned and having broken branches, leading him to the area of the crater itself. Leaves now cover majority of it, but the hole is still pretty obvious. Leaning down and touching the rim, he looks around for the Nevermore, nowhere in sight, luckily.

"It could have taken to the skies before we got here… Even so…it's odd having one at my disposal. From the classes I've taken so far, they kill just humans, or humanoid creatures, as well as their creations. I do qualify for that, so I don't know why it hasn't tried biting my head off like the first time… I put a 'collar' on it but when it doesn't listen, the chain burns it. Perhaps it simply learned not to try or it gets hurt." Tai stands back to full height, beginning to pace back and forth. "What am I even talking about right now? It's not important… what is important is at least trying to get clothes for fighting. I only have so many uniforms. If I can get some dust in my hands, I can use it to make some."

Shortly after he says this, a white case falls from the trees near him and slides a few inches toward him. Looking over at, it is a small white steel briefcase with silver handles and rims, rather large too like one used for money. Walking to it, Tai stops when he sees a small girl standing in front of it, staring directly at him. She is a small, emerald haired girl with a dark complexion wearing a small green gown and big red colored eyes, pointing at the case.

"Do you want the case, mister?" She asks him, Tai lowering his gaze from her to the case then back up to her.

 **RRRRAAAHHHRRRR**

In the distance, a Grimm roars loudly, followed by a few shouts. Seeing it as an odd coincidence, Tai walks a few more steps toward the case, the girl not moving. Nearby, Blake and Yang run by, Blake halting when she sees Tai in the corner of her eye.

Skidding to a stop, Yang looks back at Blake who is looking through bushes. "Blake, what is it? Do you see Professor Goodwitch?"

"No, just go on ahead. She is bound to be there already. I'll catch up." Blake reassures her partner, Yang nodding then resumes running. Blake looks back into the bushes and sees Tai standing a few feet away from a silver case.

"What is in the case?" Tai asks the little girl.

"Inside is the Dust you want." She answers in a melancholy tone, Blake looking back and forth between Tai and the case.

"Dust?" Tai looks down at the case then the girl.

"Who is he talking to…?" Blake shakes her head then pulls out of the bushes. "No time for that, I have to head to the Professor." Blake runs in the same direction Yang did. _He was talking like someone was there, I wonder if the syrup does that._

"Yes. Dust IS what you want, right mister?" She smiles with her eyes closed, putting her little hands behind her back.

"Alright, I'll play your game. How much Dust do I need from it?" Tai puts a hand on the hilt of his sword behind him.

"All of it is yours…"

"I'm going to say it isn't free, right?" The little girl slowly opens her eyes and smiles still.

"Very perceptive, mister." She giggles and sways left and right. "If you want the Dust, all you have to do is use your scroll and make a simple call."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you may find it very difficult to open the box." Tai pulls his sword from his sheath slowly then places it on his shoulders, walking up to the girl and the box.

"I think I could manage. But for the sake of time, tell me who to call."

The little girl's smile turns into a sheepish grin. While she gives him the information, the dying roar of the Grimm from before rings in the air again. Once Tai has the information, he looks at the girl and glares at her.

"There you go. All the information you need, so now you can take the case, mister."

"Hmm…" Tai doesn't move from his spot.

"What's the matter? It's yours now." Her cheery voice turns into a more harsh growl. "Take the case."

"Next time you want to tell me something, tell me yourself." Tai picks his sword up off him and thrusts it straight through the girl and into the ground. "And I don't like my mind being toyed with." He had his suspicions but seeing now that the sword passes right through the girl confirms it was an illusion. Becoming angry, nearby Grimm started raising their heads in his direction. The little girl disappears completely, leaving Tai with just the case, but that was all there ever was. Someone played a trick on his mind, he wasn't prepared for something like that to happen here.

"Is that what they call a *semblance*?" Tai pulls his sword from the ground and grabs the case. "An ability that huntsmen and huntresses have when they train enough that originates from the aura. But they didn't say that MIND tapping or whatever was one. Then again, it is unique across all people, most people. I wonder what mine would be…" Trying to open the case, it did not budge one bit no matter how many pulls he tried at it. "I forgot to call whoever that was… right." Hearing growling, Tai turns around to see red eyes all around him, even a flying a Grimm hovering around him. It's a small 4 limbed creature with a slim body, the head of a bird, and wings on both sides of its body. Along with smaller, more menacing tiny Nevermore littered around.

"I don't have time for this." Squeezing down on the hilt of his sword, he shakes his head getting more frustrated every second, the air around him getting warmer. From the area around him, Ursai and large Beowolf with bone like spikes protruding from their arms and backs as they reveal themselves, the flying 4 legged creature landing known as a Griffon behind him. The Grimm all start to run at him and as they did, a circular plate of fire shows up underneath all of the Grimm and pillars of fire shoot out from them and incinerate all the Grimm. Tai stands there with his sword in hand looks to his left, a woman standing there with her right eye glowing a fiery yellow.

This woman has ashen black hair lying on her right shoulder and bright glowing amber eyes, one covered by hair and standing at 5'5 or so but she's wearing black heels. She wears a dark red v-neck mini dress with yellow designs off her shoulders and a blue feather accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ends in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending above the knees. The sleeves end in a triangle shape, which are wrapped around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. She wears black shorts underneath her dress, as well as a black choker on her neck and dark red fingernails. She wears a gold loop earring with a black gem dangling from it on her right ear and dark, glass, high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg.

"And you are…?" Tai asks, seeing this is a real woman but could possibly be the one who played with his mind. His eyes open wide after acknowledging her, a strong aura coming from her body. It isn't natural, and Tai knew that glow better than anyone.

She has the piece of the soul he was looking for.

"My name is Cinder." She closes her eyes which no longer glows and bows to him. "It's a pleasure to me you, Tai."

"I figured you knew who I was. Judging by how breathtaking you are, the rules say you can't be a good guy. Right?"

"That is all based on the opinion of the one judging. The rules also say you are an angel, right?" Her response is calm like her soft voice, looking at him with a smile.

"You can say that, but I am no angel. However…" Tai pulls his sword apart, looking at Cinder carefully. "You have something that doesn't belong to you. I am going to need it back."

"Whatever do you mean?" Cinder places her right hand on her hip, looking back at Tai.

"You have a power within you that doesn't belong to you. I simply have to take it from you and I will be on my way."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Well, if you just stand there and look pretty, I can just take it. Otherwise, I'll have to use a bit of force, and we don't need that, do we?"

"By all means, come and take it." Her eyes scan him to the case. "And I might as well open up that case for you." Waving her left hand, the locks on the case glow bright and then turn to dust, allowing the case to be opened.

"Neat trick, I take it you weren't the one playing with my head then." Tai moves the case away from his feet and starts to walk over to her.

"Oh no, I can't do that. But I am afraid I can't turn down the chance to test this power before you take it from me."

"Oh, I figured it wouldn't be easy." Tai smirks and his swords ignite with flames on their edges. Cinder's eyes glow again, the yellow design throughout her dress glowing as well.

"I hope I get to see you fight with your angelic _and_ demonic power." Tai stops walking, frowning now from her comment.

"How do you know about that?"

"Let's just say I have my sources." Cinder shifts her right leg in front of her left.

"Sorry to disappoint but my 'other power' is a simple change here and there. In fact, I won't need it now will I?"

Cinder chuckles with her smirk still unbroken. "That remains to be seen."

* * *

"Is everyone ok?" Glynda stands before her students, doing a head count. "I heard Grimm activity but I see you all handled that well enough." After a quick check once more, she noticed Tai is not there. "Does anyone know where Tai is?"

Crackling noises and clanging metal echoes in the air, the students and Glynda looking around when the sound erupts. From where they are, the sounds originate a hundred yards away then seem to drift off to a half a mile away. 2 flames clash into each other within the trees, moving closer and closer to a stream cutting through the forest. Within the dark shades of trees, a spark ignites on the ground then several feet away in the branches, 2 blurry characters seeming to fade in and out of the tree shades. Tai and Cinder clash again, his sword ignited against her sword which is one of a pair similar to his also on fire. They separate so quickly then clash again further away it seemed like a blur, Cinder easily holding her own. Tai clashes with her with an overhead swing and while her hands are up blocking it, he kicks her diaphragm, sending her back with her heels skidding along the ground.

Sliding her right hand along a fallen tree as she skids, it becomes molten and rises into the air, dividing and then hardening into glass. Swinging her arms toward him, the glass shards fire at him, Tai swinging his sword horizontally burning them into nothing then puts his sword back together as one. Lunging into her, she uses her swords to slam it away into the ground, Tai using the momentum to punch her chest and she retaliates with a back flip with her heel on fire kicking him in his chin sending him backwards. Surrounding her is more fire in a large ring, small fire blasts jetting from them toward him. Recovering quickly, he lets his sword go and swings it around on its chain, blocking the blasts with the sword then pulls it back holding it once more.

Getting in close, Cinder's weapons break apart like shattered glass and she jabs her hand out like a lashing snake on fire, making Tai sway his head and she jabs again, Tai blocking it with his free arm and then slams his sword again, Cinder nimbly dodging it but Tai leaves his sword in the ground, detaching the chain and lets it wrap itself around his arm. Closing in on her, he kicks at her leg with his left, Cinder blocking it with her hand and kicks back, Tai using his knee to block. Kicking repeatedly near her head, she weaves through each one until his leg is whizzing over her head, Tai bringing it down and bends his knee so it head locks her head with his leg. Jumping over her while locked, she is forced to bend and while in mid air, Tai uses his other leg and before he lands, uses it to kick her in the back and sends her straight up into the air. Cinder is sent flipping in air then as she comes down, Tai jumps and spins rapidly and as her head is about to hit the ground and her front is facing him he lashes out a fierce fiery kick that generates a shockwave sending some trees into a tilt and Cinder onto the stream, skipping across it and lands on the other side hitting a tree.

Grunting and slumping to the ground, Cinder pants lightly and Tai uses the chain to latch back toward his sword hilt, pulling it back to his side. Holding it out to his left, the swords fold apart and are hilt to hilt, the guards stopping around his wrist. The half circles within the swords form a small ball of fire in each of them, a flame lining the outside blades then the tips let a string of fire connect themselves together. Cinder stands up again, brushing herself off and looks at him, seeing his swords together like a Great Bow. Putting the weapon above his head, he slams the bottom tip into the ground and aims it stands in front of him like a bow, Tai grabbing the flame string and draws it back slowly, a giant fiery arrow forming and being pulled back until the tip is near the hilt. Aiming it right at her, his glowing silver eyes fixated on her, he lets the 5.5 foot arrow go, the ground behind him breaking as well as the crimson leaves fly around him from the release force. Cinder puts up her hands and forms a barrier of fire around her as fast as she could, the arrow exploding in a glorious pillar of golden flames.

The gust generated does not sway him, pulling his bow from the ground and collapses it back into the original claymore design, walking up to the edge of the stream. As the debris clears, he sees the dusty shadow of Cinder stand there, barely moved. Her hand is on her hip once more, looking at Tai with a satisfied smile on her face.

"I see… When you access your real power, your eyes turn to silver." Cinder analyzes him, Tai's once red eyes still glowing silver. "I'm afraid I can't stick around anymore, so we will have to pick this up again sometime." Putting her hands in the air, the 2 swords she had form again but as a bow, just like Tai's only far smaller. Drawing back, 3 black arrows with silver tips form and she shoots them into the water between them, the arrows hitting the floor and explodes with flaming energy, creating steam and water to jettison from the stream and reduce the visibility to almost zero.

"…!" Putting his arm up to shield his face, he looks to where she should be, no longer seeing even a shade.

"We will meet again, I assure you. Next time, you should just call me~." Cinder's teasing voice echoes around him, the water drizzling back down and clears the steam, seeing her nowhere in sight.

"Yes… we will." Tai turns away from the stream and slides his sword back onto his shoulders, returning to the place where the fight started around the suitcase.

Later that afternoon, Tai is in the town, traveling down a street alone save for a few bystanders, walking past book stores and jewelry stores until he finds the one he is looking for: a sewing facility. With the suitcase in hand, he looks at his scroll with the other.

"This is the place. I wonder if it will take a lot of time…" Tai walks into the store, the afternoon sun shining its orange glow across the kingdom. A few hours pass, the moon a waning crescent in the sky, Tai walking from within the store and looks up to the moon, the case in hand still. He looks down at it and waves it around, the contents in it exhausted. "It's definitely lighter now since it has clothes in it now. It wasn't as expensive as I thought but then again, I don't know what a lot of money would even be." Shrugging, he heads back to the school and into his dorm room, laying the case down on his bed and opening it. Taking out the clothes, he grabs a white dowel and heads into the bathroom, taking a well needed shower for what he planned to do. Plus it was nice to get under some hot water to get clean anyway.

Stepping out of the bathroom 20 minutes later, he is wearing his new clothing and even new boots, walking out into the hallway and shutting the door quietly.

"What are you up to?" A sudden voice turns him around, Yang walking toward her room with a mug of steaming liquid, probably coffee like everyone else, in a yellow tank top and black shorts showing him she was either in bed already or going to it.

Looking him up and down, Tai is wearing an ashen jacket with the inner coat lined with white vine like designs reminiscent of Chinese culture, the design outlining the bottom of the outer side as well. The duster is open over a black short sleeve shirt and black pants. The pants resemble sweatpants with a white flame design at the bottom that goes up to half his shins, zippers along the sides of his pants. His boots are also black, white soles and black laces. A chain wraps around his waist like a belt, a loop of it on the right side and a small design of a feather similar to a Nevermore's is seen on the back center of the coat and the bottom left of his shirt. Around his neck is the gold and silver necklace with the swirling red and blue smoke like substance inside of it. Yang whistles as she looks him over.

"Whoa, nice clothes man. Must've been expensive to get that stuff." She compliments him, Tai putting his hand in his pocket.

"I believe so. And to answer the other question, I have to go out looking for information."

"Information huh? What kind of information?"

"Finding someone. But it won't be easy so I need to find someone who at least knows a lot of… unsavory people."

"Oooh. I have a friend who knows anyone and everyone." Yang points to herself with a smile. "I bet he can find who you are looking for."

"Hm… Ok, where is he?" Tai pulls out his scroll and finds a map of the area, Yang looking at it and scrolling around then points to a corner.

"Down there. His name is Junior, tell him I sent ya! He is a really cool guy." Yang smiles and turns away from him, walking away. "Oh yeah, and sorry for yesterday. I was super hyper, like, more than usual, so I hope you can forget about that. Goodnight." Entering her room, Tai heads in the opposite direction. Looking at the scroll, he follows it for the next 30 minutes, making his way through the night streets carefully until he sees a large brick building on the edge of the city with lights blinking like strobe lights of white, red, and liker grays through them.

"This is a… questionable area. I wonder what kind of friend am I looking for…?"

Approaching the building, Tai walks up a small flight of stairs and past 2 guardsmen dressed in black suits and red ties, black glasses and hats, and he pushes open a large silver door. Turning out to be a club, music bumping and people inside dancing, it's a virtual themed club with a lot of white. There are more people with suits holding red swords and some have guns dancing as well, for some reason, and the DJ is also wearing a suit with a giant teddy bear head on. Walking down the into the main area where the lights are above moving slowly and alternating colors, he passes by many folk with the scent of alcohol and sweat to the bartender counter with a big man standing behind it. He has a suit on without the jacket and a very smooth goatee and gruff figure. A man in a white suit walks away from the counter with orange hair and a cane, an aura catching Tai's eye like Cinder's only lighter.

"What'll it be pal?" He asks, picking up a shot glass and a white towel, shining it.

"Information, on the rocks. No bullshit." Tai says, sitting down.

"Take it you know who I am?" He replies instantly.

"Of course, I heard from a blonde girl that you are good for info, like telling me who that man was that was just here."

"Just a business associate, name's Torchwick." He shrugs, looking away to the door. "Blondie sent you, huh? Well, in that case, I should be a bit hospitable." He gestures to the men in black and they close the doors. Noticing it, some people start to file out immediately then nearly everyone is gone but for the suited men. Tai shrugs and gets up, walking on the floor heading out.

"I'll go find him then. It shouldn't be hard." Tai says to the man, putting his right hand in his pocket. "Thank you for the name; I'll be back when I need more."

"Sorry, but you are gonna help pay off Blondie's tab. Just with a bit of… entertainment." Junior walks around the counter past 2 twin girls. One wears a white, strapless dress with cyan lining. Her massive amount of accessories are a large white flower hairpin above her left ear, a white feather scarf, a silver pad with cyan and red feathers on her left shoulder, white gloves, a small silver bracer over the glove on her left arm, a bow in the center of the top-most part of her bodice, a silver chained belt, cyan wings on the lower back, and long white boots with blades at the heels. The other twin is wearing a red and black equivalent and red claw weapons.

The men in black walk around him, cutting him off from anywhere standing in the middle of the dance floor. Tai is not bothered by this however, looking back at Junior who is sitting in a stool with a grin on his face.

"I see. No problem, but I hope you know you will owe me after this, Junior." Tai takes his hands from his pocket, looking around at the men. "You might need more men though." The men growl around him, and aim guns at him and tries to shoot but their guns are jammed, throwing them away before feeling stupid and pulling out red axes. Running toward him, things slow down and Tai takes a deep breath, holding out his left arm a bit with his palm up and open. "Maybe some men that have brain too." Focusing with a sarcastic grin on his face, he closes his eyes and as they closed in, he clenches his palm into a fist, a large white explosion of fire emanating from Tai instantly.

They are all knocked back, Tai's duster now white and appearing like flames and the lines that were white are now black. Tai turns around, grinning with his eyes silver and clothes giving off ember like energy. _I see... It's not like Ceraza's, but it's close enough. As long as I don't summon any Infernal Demons, I should be ok._ Tai thinks as he inspects himself. More men rush him, Tai punching the closest one in the chest with a small gold explosion on hit, punching the man again into one behind him. Turning quickly, he hits a man behind him with his elbow, grabbing him, and then tossing his over his head into more clumsy men. Sweeping left, he trips 2 men then double kicks them away from him, the DJ pulling out a rocket launcher from under him and aiming it at Tai, shooting it right away. Tai jumps and twists over the rocket, waiting for it to pass and grabs it from the air and changes its path back to its sender, blowing up the DJ booth and then lands on another man's shoulders. Flipping down to the ground, Tai kicks backwards and sends him into the broken and destroyed booth.

Walking up to Tai is the 2 twins he saw earlier, the one in white with her arms folded.

"Melanie… doesn't he remind you of that girl…?" The one in red asks quietly from behind.

"Yeah Militia. People are so rude nowadays, we should hurry and get rid of him." Melanie says to her twin coldly.

"Yeah ok…" Militia puts up her claws, Tai walking up to them then takes a sudden jump and slams his boot down above them, and the both of them cartwheel away nimbly. Moving back to him at fast speed, Melanie kicks at his feet, keeping Tai moving with her and her twin jumps over her back, swinging her claws down at him. Tai blocks them and tries to kick her but Melanie blocks his kick with hers. Clawing at him, Tai blocks the twin onslaught and they push him back, tripping Tai with a full sweep under him. He shifts in mid air and kicks Melanie away from him into the stairs of the club. Giving her no break, Tai closes in on Militia and uppercuts her stomach, then punches her back even though she blocks it.

Both twins come back and Tai moves sideways when a red claw cuts straight to him, grabbing her arm and lifting her up, preventing Melanie from seeing him and he takes a step toward her and elbows her hard enough to break glass around him and send her into a glass pillar seemingly unconscious. Militia twists above him and swings both of her claws in a cat scratch motion, Tai blocking and parries her right claw to the side. Kicking her left shin, she buckles down and he grabs her right arm, back flips and kicks her upwards. He keeps her suspended by kicking her repeatedly each time she comes down, golden explosions following every kick. He then steps back, then kicks his right leg outwards into her stomach, Militia screaming as she is flying into the DJ booth. Melanie tries sneaking up behind him and kicks at his back, Tai using his arm to block her.

He grabs her ankle and pulls her toward him, forcing her to wobble to him. He uses his free arm to wrap around her waist, picking her up and then throws her over his head, punching her 3 times before she could hit the ground then punches her one final time hard enough to send her to the booth as well. From behind, Junior swings a large metallic baseball like weapon and clocks Tai in the back of the head, sending him hurling into nearby stands and creating debris around him. Mounting it on his shoulders, it transforms slightly into a rocket launcher and when he pulls the trigger, 10 rockets fly out in swivels and explode where Tai is hitting him directly. With a satisfied smile, he slides it into a bat and taps it on his shoulders.

"Had enough, punk?" He asked in a snooty tone, the debris still.

The club starts to rumble and the lights start to flicker until they stay white and red, the debris starting to rise. From the debris Tai stands up slowly, his amount of continuous aura lifting the debris and keeping it suspended. He cracks his neck and starts walking toward Junior.

"I was just got these clothes. You mess them up and you'll be paying the tab, Junior." Grunting, Junior changes his weapon back into the RPG and shoots it again. Wanting to get to him as fast as possible, Tai lunges forward. The sudden speed burst left behind a white flash of energy and then it appears again in front of Junior, taking him by surprise and slugs him in the face. Punching the weapon away, Junior tries punching Tai but he vanishes again, behind Junior and he punches both shoulders and vanishes again. He uppercuts Junior into the air then gets above him to kick him down again. Junior can't handle the teleporting, standing turning around just to get hit from the side of his head then Tai gets in front of him and plants his right foot and kicks Junior's face with the sole of his big boot. Junior falls back hard, letting go of his weapon and gets dizzy, shaking his head as Tai switches his legs up and spins around with golden embers trailing his boot and kicks Junior's face, shattering all the glass in the building and sends him spinning out of the doors of the club.

Cracking his knuckles together, Tai comes from the club and jumps up high in the air. His fist burns with the same golden embers, coming down right in the center of Junior's chest leaving a crater around him and knocks him out cold.

Clearly unconscious, Tai walks out to look at Junior then down to his own clothing. "Thanks for that, Junior. I wanted to see if this worked with my abilities and your boys and girls definitely helped. Although… I don't know how I did all that… 'teleporting' when I fought you. Maybe that's from this world." Bowing toward Junior, his clothing and eyes returned to normal, no longer emitting his aura. He walks away from Junior, going around a corner. "I still have so much to learn here… But if I know one thing: I'm going to have to find Torchwick so he can lead me to Cinder. In the mean time, i should practice my new abilities while I can. Maybe I don't have to use 'Witch Time' here after all..." Suddenly, his head begins hurting and he holds it with his right hand, covering his forehead and eye. "The hell is this..?!" Just as quickly as it happened, it was gone, Tai paused in place then looks around him, ending his gaze at the sky. "What just happened...?"

* * *

 **In a small and dark cell...**

Within the silence of darkness, a small confined room of white tile flooring, a single bed, and a sink with a mirror over it holds a single soul. Reminiscent of a jail cell, a sole person wrapped in a ruby red sheet is sitting on a poor quality hard bed near the corner of the room, her hair damp and occasionally dripping on the stained sheet. Her features are hard to make out as she is covered head to toe save for her pink lips and cream white complexion in addition to being in fetal position.

(Voice of Rebecca Shochet)"Dear God..." She whispers feebly, her lips parting only a little. "Please help me... Some...one... A-Anyone..." Her jagged voice barely bounce from the walls as she attempts to pray. Her hair in the darkness begin to glow a golden color under the sheet, then return to the crimson red it is, into the black which match the darkness of the room. "Th-there must be...one. J-just one... out there... Right-t?" The door, a steel rusted old door at that, to the room shakes and the sounds of locks are undone makes her shudder but she knows who this was. When the door opens, it lets in just a shred of light before being shut closed again. The sound of clicking heels move closer to the battered female then stops, a flame igniting in the intruder's hands, her eyes glowing amber.

"You and I... have to talk." Cinder states, with a calm smile on her face.

* * *

Please feel free to leave any feedback as it would be greatly appreciated and lets me know if you enjoyed reading this or if I may need to work on it. Nothing is perfect so don't mince words if you don't have too! Also, I'd like to know if music suggestions would help the imagery of this series. This is 'canon' without changing the outcome of the story so I try to use only what's available. Thanks, and stay classy.


	5. Fight Fire with Fire

**DISCLAIMER** : This is a story from a different perspective of an OCC. RWBY and all RWBY characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

* * *

Fight Fire with Fire

With the Moon high in the air, the soft moonlight shines through many of students' windows revealing them sleeping to late night studies. Tai is lying in his bed as well, but he is not sleeping or studying, only staring at the ceiling that stares back at him. It has been 2 weeks since he has seen Torchwick and the Vytal Festival starts in a month from now in Vale itself, so he would not be able to find him then. The sound of a ticking clock is the only thing disturbing the silence, the time itself at 10:39 pm. All the other students would be sleep or something by this time except for Pyrrha and Jaune who would train on the rooftops some nights. Tai himself did not try fighting Pyrrha or any other student yet since he did not see them a fruitful sparring partner. It is still in his best interest to do so anyway so he can practice with his new ability.

A week prior to this one, Glynda explains Aura and the ability of a semblance once more to him more carefully than he already thought he knew. By that information alone, sparring should be easier but he still did not want to risk it.

"If I don't work on my semblance more, I'm not going to be able to control it. As basic as that is, sparring with a human will be better than a Grimm. Glynda won't spar with me and Ozpin is out of the question, so I think I HAVE to find a student." Tai speaks out loud to himself, turning his gaze to the window. "But there is no one I can fight with safely. I can always go out and just kill criminals or fight that White Fang group, but I wouldn't be using my semblance during most of it so I can't see it as training." Sitting up and walking over to the window, shaking his head.

"Those are just excuses. I need to find a partner." Then it hit him, slapping his own forehead at his sorry excuses and self. "I can just get MULTIPLE partners. These guys are all in groups, you dumbass. Even if they aren't in the same teams, I can still get enough to train. Usually, I would just train alone but every person at this school has worked with Aura for a long time so trying to struggle with it alone is stupid. It's like trying to write a book while sitting in a library surrounded by 'How to' books without looking at them." Grabbing his scroll, he looks through the limited people he can call, trying to think of who would be up. Let's see… Nora is going to be asleep, Glynda and Ozpin are a no, and Yang would be too, Blake would…"

 _Actually, what would Blake be doing right now? I doubt she's nocturnal but she could be up doing something, studying perhaps._ Pulling up Blake's face, he decides to record a message just in case. "Blake, are you awake right now?" He speaks to the scroll, recording the message then sends it to her. If she doesn't reply, then she's obviously sleep, so he'd have to get someone else.

Within the room several doors down, a scroll softly vibrates within the lap of its owner. Looking down at it, Blake picks it up and opens it.

"Who is it, Blake?" Weiss asks beside her. In their room, Ruby's team is all awake and sitting in a small circle on the floor. They have formed a study group consisting of Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Kei, and Yang. They would have more people in the group but team JNPR had their own agenda, so it was just them this time. They are in their respective pajamas, Blake in her black kimono, Yang in a yellow tank top and black shorts, Weiss in her ice blue gown, Kei in an orange tank top and black pants, and Ruby in a black top with a rose in its center and white pajama pants with red roses all over. Each of them had books from various classes and between them all is papers and pencils scattered about.

"It's Tai." She answers, playing the small voice message.

"Who?" Weiss puts a finger on her chin and looks up trying to think. "I don't think I know that name."

"He's the student with black hair and a silver streak in it." Yang points to her own hair, Weiss shaking her head.

"He has a really big sword, usually by himself, we have our first classes with him." Ruby tries to help, Weiss still shaking her head.

"Oh! He's the only student in school history to be on a one man team." Yang puts out a hand to Weiss and points to it. "Brown complexion, has his school jacket open only 100% of the time."

"Oh, I know now." Weiss pounds her fist into her open palm. "He's the one that looks like a degenerate!" They all fall back from the answer she gave, Blake sitting back up and shaking her head.

"He's not a degenerate, but at least you remember him."

"I've never spoke with the guy, so how am I gonna know?" Kei sits up as well and thinks about Weiss' question.

"Come to think of it, I haven't spoken to him before either."

"THEY seem to speak to him. Right Yang?" Weiss glares at Yang then at Blake. "Blake?"

"I mean sometimes, sure." Yang shrugs. "That's IF he approaches me, but he really doesn't. I can't even call us friends really, and if anything counts, Blake is closer to him than me."

"We've only met on a few occasions, so our relationship is in the same boat." Blake gets ready to send a response when Weiss takes the scroll from her.

"Let me see that. I want to speak with him myself." Weiss declares, Ruby taking the scroll from Weiss.

"If you want to talk to him, why not use your scroll? It's rude to just take Blake's without permission." Yang takes it from Ruby, waving it around.

"I dunno Ruby, Weiss seems to walk to talk more than Blake does."

"I just want to see what kind of person he is." Weiss frowns, holding her hand open to Yang for the scroll. "I'm worried about it as a teammate, Yang." Blake takes her scroll back from Yang, looking at the bunch.

"Why is this a big deal? I can talk to anyone I want, you know." Blake growls, Weiss putting her hands on her sides.

"Look at the time! It's 10:42 at night. Why would he want to get in touch with you at this time?"

"Why does it matter?" Blake started raising her voice.

"Because I am your teammate and we are studying!" Weiss responded, raising her own.

"You're acting like a nosey child!"

" _I am guessing it was a bad time to send a message."_ Tai's voice split through them, Weiss looking around for its source.

"Hey, show yourself!" She continued to look around as well as the others, except Kei.

" _I can't. I was called and when I picked up, I just heard arguing._ " His voice came from Blake's scroll. She must've called him while they were arguing or taking the scroll from each other. " _If this is not a good time, I will ask you tomorrow."_ Tai hangs up, Blake closing the scroll while sighing.

"This was just a simple call that could have been about the most simple of things and this is how it goes? Thanks a lot, Weiss." Blake shoots a cold glare at Weiss and closes her textbook.

"What did I do?" Weiss huffs, Yang placing a palm on her face.

"Know him or not, he IS another student Weiss. He could have called about anything school related."

"She's not wrong, Weiss." Ruby chimes in, holding out her hand. "Do you have any idea how many times Jaune calls me for some of the oddest reasons?"

"But…I"

"No buts. Tomorrow, you should try clearing things up." Ruby smiles proud of herself for handling the situation. "Right Yang?" Looking over to her big sister just to see that she is lying across Kei's back using her arms as a makeshift pillow fast asleep. "Guess it is a good time to sleep, huh?"

"How strange… and I think that was the first time I've ever called too." Tai says, back in his room. He looks through his scroll and then closes it, giving up on calling someone else. Looking to his left at his sword, he focuses on the golden feather on the sheath. "I wonder how that Nevermore is doing. It has been quite some time, hopefully it wasn't killed. Getting another one would be bothersome. I guess I'll check on it tomorrow after I meet up with…"

"Blake, and you are…?" The next morning, Tai roamed near some windows after a riveting session on the tales of smelling like cabbage and heroism. Letting the thoughts slip away from his mind, the fresh air helped just a bit when Blake and Weiss walk to him, Tai turning in time to see them. He is familiar with Blake, but Weiss was another story. That's when he greeted her, but could not remember the name of the white haired girl.

"I'm Weiss Schnee. You're Tai, right?" Weiss scans Tai up and down, holding a finger to her chin. "I guess you're ok."

"…Ok?" Tai shrugs, not caring about what she's getting at.

"Weiss." Blake hissed, Weiss jumping a bit from it and stands up straight with her hands behind her back.

"Right. I'm sorry for last night." She apologized, but Tai didn't seem to care for it.

"That was you complaining?"

"Uh, yes? That's why I'm apologizing now, so accept it." She demanded, Tai taken aback from the sudden notion.

"Weiss, you can't make someone accept an apology." Blake sighed, shaking her head.

"It's fine." Tai raises and waves his hand at them. "I accept you're apology, but I still have to talk to her."

"Right…" Weiss looks at him then Blake, who glares at her. "I guess I'll be over there, somewhere. Just don't be late." With that, Weiss turns away and walks with pep in her step to her next class. Shaking her head as she walked away, Blake turns back to Tai.

"Sorry about that.. What did you call about last night?"

"I wanted to know if I could train with you sometime. I figure that with you being fast and able, as well as patient to some degree, you'd be a great partner." Tai slides his hands into his pockets. "If not, I can try Pyrrha like suggested."

"No, I can help." She quickly stated, Blake blinking rapidly at her own statement. "I mean, I can train, but when is good?"

"What about after classes are over with? We can meet outside and go into the Emerald forest uninterrupted. Does that sound good?"

Blake nods gently, holding her sides under her breasts. "Sure, that works." Looking up towards a clock, she starts to back away. "It's about time class starts, I'm going to get going now."

"No problem. And Blake." She turns when he says her name. "Thank you." Smiling gently, her eyes look to his.

"No problem…" Walking off, Tai looks back to the outside through the window. Being this polite is out of his own character. But he had a particular interest in Blake, she's more than she seems and has to be stronger too. Perhaps he's giving her too much credit, but either way he has a partner now.

 **Later the same day…**

Out in the fields of the Emerald Forest, Tai is sitting in the area that only months ago Lie Rin fought the giant snake and where he left Nora in the tree. Wearing his duster and what he considers fighting gear, his sword and sheath rest in the ground planted firmly. "I'm gonna start leaving you in the locker from now on. I don't care how you feel about it." With his arms folded, his eyes remain closed and the wind blows through the trees and his hair gently, feeling it's welcoming warm grace his skin. Nearby, shrubbery shakes and shift and Blake comes through in her own battle gear, not school uniform, even though she couldn't have left it for more than a few minutes.

"You managed to find me. Color me impressed." Tai slowly inhales and exhales, seeming to practice deep breathing.

"Well, I didn't have to look long." Blake shrugs and passes on a smile. "I hope you are ready to spar."

She did come ready to fight, but he didn't want to do too much in case she cannot handle it. She agreed to spar and wants to do it for herself as well it seems but he can't overwhelm her, not even a bit. But what good is sparring if you don't try at least to do your best?

"You are totally right, Blake." Tai says while standing up, opening his eyes and stretching out his arms. "Let's get serious then, too." Facing towards her while putting his hands in his duster pockets, he smiles and proposes: "How about we also make it interesting?"

Blake, already skeptical of what he's doing, looks him up and down. "Interesting how?"

"I'll handicap myself by not using my hands. All you have to do is land at least one blow on me in the next 2 minutes and you win, simple as that. But if you hit me or not, the loser has to…" He thinks for a few seconds as he pulls out his Scroll and sets a stopwatch and places it back in his pocket. "Make dinner for the both of us." _I guess that works, we will be working out for a bit so food would be nice. Even better if the loser makes it._

"Make dinner? Why would I want to do that?"

"You don't have to if you are confident in yourself. Besides, I am handicapped as well." Blake becomes flustered, turning away from him to think about it. _I don't have to agree to this, in fact we might not even go through with it. But… he's not using his hands! This'll be easy, and free food is never bad, and I don't have to eat some boring food from a store so…_ Turning back to him, she points her Gambol Shroud at him and puts on a determined face. "Alright, I accept those terms." Taking a low stance, her katana above her head and sheath pointed toward him, she focus solely on him and his movements, even though Tai makes none. Tai closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. "I hope you are a good cook, or this won't be worth it." She teases him, Tai not making any movements. Then he opens his eyes, revealing the iris color silver and smirks back at her.

"I could say the same."

A sudden flame erupts in a circle around him, coating him in a gold light blurring her vision and causes her to block her eyes. He illuminates a gold color similar to natural dust, his clothes blazing white and black designs. Jumping right at her, he shoulder charges her in the chest, Blake being sent back and hitting a nearby tree.

 _That Aura… I've never seen it so manifested before… except…_ Composing herself quickly, she dashes at him with abnormal speed, making an obvious overhead swing at him which he backs up from then kicks her chest, only to see a dark shadowy figure in her place. While on the other side of him, Blake slashes upwards at him, Tai twisting away from her and then kicking her face, Blake flipping backwards as another shadowy figure takes the hit.

 _I see… Her semblance seems to be a sort of substitution that takes a hit instead of her. So that means I should watch for her attacks closely…_ Thrusting her katana at him, he jumps to the side and immediately, Blake's katana compacts downward and she throws the handgun attached to a black ribbon at him. Moving just shy out of the way, the gun fires, ricocheting back at him faster than it arrived and he vanishes with a circular white light remaining where he once was. The same mini flash of light flashes behind Blake and he knees her in the right side to toss her sideways with a quiet grunt.

Regaining composure quickly, Blake fires several rounds at him, Tai vanishing in white flashes backwards making it harder to hit him.

"Is that you're ability?" Blake keeps her pistol pointed at him, her sheath being held behind her.

"Yes. From what I can tell, it's short range teleportation in a nutshell. I'm still getting the hang of it, but I don't think I can go very far."

 _Is he still learning his semblance…? That could be why he practiced using aura earlier, just to get used to it. I've got to use this to my advantage…_ Aiming at his feet, he fires a few shots just for Tai to teleport away from them and as she inspects his movements, sees no prints in the grass. It really is a teleporting semblance, but he does seem to know where he's going although he doesn't seem aware of his surroundings. Looking behind him, Blake sees he's inches away from a tree, so if she can back him up far enough she could hit him. Throwing her handgun at him again with a shot being fired off, Tai ducks underneath and dashes to her, Blake having a smirk on her face, Tai taken aback by it. The moments of hesitation left him open for Blake to uppercut him with the sheath, missing only by a few centimeters as he teleports backwards.

The handgun is pulled back and Tai is forced to teleport again past it and he hits his back against a tree. Looking up to it, Blake closes the gap between them and aims to punch Tai square in the chest. Right before she could punch him, he pulls out his left hand and grabs her wrist right before it hits him, Blake looking up to him in surprise, then gives him a glare and a frown.

"Hey, you said no hands. You cheated." She pouts, Tai shaking his head in response. He takes his other hand out which holds the scroll and opens it, showing the stopwatch. On it, it was paused at 2 minutes and 7.49 seconds.

"I started the timer after I charged up and ended it just now. You were going to hit me for sure, but time is already up." Tai raises an eyebrow and lets her wrist go. "This means I win." Blake opens her mouth to object but he was right, Blake standing up straight and slides her katana in its sheath and puts it on her magnetic metallic plate on her back.

"Fine, I'll keep my word." Blake folds her arms, but she wasn't feeling any negative emotion, she in fact seemed to look forward to it. Tai passes her and grabs his Infernal Cerberus and places it on his back, Blake looking for anything on his back. "How are you holding that up?" Tai looks back at her and then his sword over his shoulder.

"It's bound to me by energy. Basically, the sword is made of both positive and negative energy and I give off positive energy so it becomes attracted to me but does stick to me at all times due to it being half and half. It's like I'm a magnet, a big battery magnet."

"What happens if you run out of 'positive energy'?"

"Then my body gets filled with the negative energy and the same thing happens. If THAT energy is depleted, then I just carry it on my shoulders." He explains, Blake taking in the information but remains wondering. If he carries it with him at all times he's out, how much power does he have? In fact, if he has 2 sources of power, how strong is he really? The spar they had wasn't a long session but Blake manages to gauge him just a bit.

Lost in her thoughts, bushes begin rustling behind her. From it, the bushes split and reveal a pair of glossy red eyes staring at her. The creature jumps at her, Blake snapping away from her thoughts and turns as fangs are bared at her face and she puts her hands up and braces herself. The sound of metal breaking rings in the air, Blake slowly opening her eyes as the blow never came and sees Tai's arm buried into the Grimm in front of her. He is extremely close to her, his arm over her shoulder and he looks down at her with focused but soft eyes.

"You alright?"

Blake nods, looking back at the Grimm. "Yeah." It looks like a normal Beowulf, except for an extreme difference.

It is metallic.

The 'Grimm' certainly looks like a Beowulf Major, or at least modeled after it, but it has silver skin and no fur. Tai's arm is buried into its head, exposing electrical wiring and oils with glittering dust escaping it. Its eyes are glass and dim without light, Tai pulling his arm out and letting the shell fall to the ground. "What the hell is this thing?" He shakes his arm off, making sure no wiring is left on him.

"It looks like a robotic Grimm, I've never seen one before. I never knew it was possible to make replicas of them, actually." Blake kneels and looks over the robot, then spots tracks that it made coming here.

"Why would someone want to make a robotic Grimm?" Tai asks curiously. "In fact, where would they even make them?" Blake scoots over to the bushes it came from and sees its tracks leading far into the forest.

"Looks like it came from there. It's too heavy and left its prints all the way here. Maybe we should follow it and get our answers solved." Blake was right, if more of these are around, it could be trouble. In addition, the sun started to set, casting an orange hue over the forest giving it a mix of greens and oranges, shadows growing further and thicker.

"We should. You lead the way, you seem to be able to track better." Taking it as more of a compliment than accusation, Blake walks in the direction of the prints, Tai following closely. They walked for 30 minutes and even though they were cautious, not one Grimm was seen. The prints lead so deep in the forest that it seemed like new territory, less and less trees standing around them. By this time, the sun had set, but Blake still followed them, Tai not able to see them without focusing hard enough.

"How can you see the tracks so easily, Blake?"

Looking over her shoulder, "I have very good eye sight." She says, looking forward again. The tracks lead to a large warehouse, trees still around it helping it stay hidden from above.

"A warehouse…?" Blake looks around its massive size, Tai looking straight ahead to see the door ripped open like something came from it.

"The robotic Grimm came from here, but I don't think anyone is inside." Tai walks past her and opens up the door that barely stands anyway. Lights are dim but even he can see hundreds of Grimm robotic clones all in rows and hanging on the walls and ceiling, ranging from Beowulf to Nevermore to a rather large gorilla like robot that stands 2 stories tall on the ground. Assembly belts snake through the warehouse to show it's more like a factory, robotic arms with random limbs of metallic Grimm within their claws. Half completed Grimm copies scattered along the belt and dim lit screens with incoherent writing on them are seen all throughout the factory. Passing by them, they don't move an inch, Blake close behind him, dust kicked up from each step they took.

"It must have been abandoned a long time ago, it doesn't seem anyone has been here recently either." Blake looks at all the lifeless clones, unsettled by their meager appearance. Even the large gorilla had vines around it. Tai nods in agreement, sizing up the place. He noticed a large dusty banner that has a familiar insignia on it, a Beowolf head with 3 red claw marks in them hanging off the wall.

"I'm guessing that one that attacked activated on its own and we just so happened to find it. Or found us, rather." As he spoke, a clone nearby shuddered, its eyes glowing red. Tai turns and sees it, Blake pulling out her sword but then lowered it when one after the other, red eyes illuminated and Beowulf clones stepped forward one step, Boarbatusk clones stepping up as well. An Ursa robot walks up from the shadows and it's eyes flash bright before it sends out a scanning light at Blake. It scans her body head to toe several times before it stops then clicks off. It then scans Tai who glared at it, letting himself be scanned. He could tell no one is controlling it.

"INTRUDER. IDENTIFY YOURSELF." It commanded.

Tai and Blake look at each other, Tai shrugging. "You said this place is abandoned, which it sure seems to be. Think anyone will miss the place?" Blake shrugs as Tai walks toward the Ursa clone, lifts his leg up to it and kicks its head clean off into the rows of reanimated Beowulf, exploding on contact. Grabbing the body, he throws it to his right into the assembly line which blew up as well sending shrapnel into other machines. More rows awaken with red lights illuminating at an alarming rate, a Beowulf clone approached his back, and Blake's Gambol Shroud cut its head clean off. Watching her own back, she twists around and severs the limbs of several clones at once and then dashes through them, metallic heads flying into the air. A Boarbatusk jumps and spins, 4 more joining it in a V formation, 2 Beowulf opening their jaws and revealing miniature Gatling guns within them and they rev quickly, rotating more and more rapidly unleashing a bullet hell at the pair.

Tai pulls his sword out and slashes a wall of fire up, blocking the bullets from them. "Go underneath, they are aimed at me." He tells her, Blake nodding and ducks through the fire and bullets, running at the revving robots. The Boarbatusk charge, Tai slashing the air above Blake shortly after the bullet hell, cutting the heads of the shooting Beowulf and allows her to jump clear over the rolling robots. She twists around with her handgun out on its ribbon and slashes it around fiercely, cutting the Boarbatusk and causing them to wobble. Tai slams his sword down the one in the middle when it gets close enough, then pulls his sword apart into the pair and cuts the remaining 4. He teleports forward into a large amount of the active and inactive, spinning like a top cutting them up and his flames cause them to explode, teleporting away as fire engulfs a few lines. Jumping over his head, Blake cuts through the chests of more robotic Grimm and gets slugged by an 'Ursa', her shadowy image taking the hit as she flips away.

Blake shoots off head after head, miniature 'Nevermore' falling from the ceiling and diving down on her. Spinning his right sword on its chain, he creates an umbrella of fire to protect them from the kamikaze birds, sparks flying and fire melting the Grimm around them. The large robotic gorilla stirs, it's eyes glowing a bright red too. Lifting its large fists, it raises its arms up to its chest and it stays still for a second then beats on it fiercely, loud banging of steel on steel ringing in Blake's and Tai's ears, the robot ape shrieking like a motorcycle engine and peers down at the pair. It moved forward on its large forearms and crushed an inactive Boarbatusk under its fist.

Whistling, Tai shakes his head. "That is a bit big…"

"What do we do?" Blake looks at him then the gorilla, Tai slamming his swords together then slides them in the sheath.

"Try seeing if it has a weak point first, then take advantage of it. I can handle the rest." He held out a hand toward the oncoming robot, Blake watching him then the bot before running at the robot and jumping up high. She shoots its face, the bullets ricocheting off and the ape looks at her, then Tai. Prioritizing him, it scans his sword which seemed to become hotter in its sheath. Charging at him, Blake shoots repeatedly along its back then spots a hole in the center of its back. It looks busted open, wires hanging loosely and a metallic spine in clear view as though it were damaged already. Shooting it directly, the robot stops its charge and turns briefly, slamming its fist down and shaking the ground. Blake wobbles and then jumps again, the gorilla focused on her even though it was close to Tai. She jumps on its shoulders, slashing at it then attacking its head, the ape trying to pull her off.

Every time it tried to grab her, it grabs air as she nimbly dodges the massive hands. She gets in front of its face and shoots its scanner like eyes, the robot unable to scan anything as its sight is lost and it becomes scrambled. It fumbles around and crushes other bots, fire growing ever present more and more around them. She jumps off of it and Tai looks at her, panting lightly from the efforts she's done.

"Blake, fall back." He tells her, Blake jumping backwards from him and the robot stumbles toward him, Tai gripping his hilt tightly then pulls the sword covered in concentrated flames out of the sheath blindingly fast, the force alone sending the gorilla back. The flames incinerate the beastly machine, and every other robot in the slashes wake, becoming mere particles before him. Watching from afar, Blake stares at him in awe, fire crackling around them and burning the building down slowly. Tai slides his sword back into the sheath, Blake feeling something in her heart jump as she gazed at him.

Blake feels a strong emotion within her chest, this attraction directed toward Tai and she clutches her chest trying to figure out what it is. Is it his strong demeanor? The sheer power he possesses? The soft familiarity of another? Even simple love at first sight type of thing, although she has seen him before. She could not figure it out but she knows it is there and it is strong, Tai turning back to see her clutching her chest.

"Are you alright?" He asks, then looks around to the crumbling and burning scene around them. "We should leave. These aren't my flames so I can't stop it." A steel beam from the ceiling loses support and starts to fall at a rapid pace. Seeing it above her Tai calls to her to move, but she looks up and it was far too big and too close to move from it. She shuts her eyes and covers her head, using her aura to try and survive the hit but it never came, this time she was shoved out of the building door and when it came down, Tai caught the steel girder with a single hand, Blake sitting up to see him holding it and processed what had happened. He teleported and didn't have enough time to grab her and move so he took it instead of her.

"Are you ok?!" She stumbled up and started to run him but more debris collapsed and fell onto and around him, stopping Blake in her tracks, the flames becoming more intense to block the now shut doorway. A gold light illuminated within the cracks of debris and it flies straight up from pure energy erupting from Tai, who starts brushing off his hair and shoulders. Shortly after, the aura fades and the debris begins to fall as he walks out of the building which collapsed a half second after he steps out. The banner from before with the White Fang symbol burns away slowly, another symbol underneath it. However it is too indistinguishable from the wall now as it crumbles apart.

"I'm good. But we still have to get as far away as possible." Nodding incoherently, Blake and Tai run out of the factory, the tracks they followed nearly faded from wind and time. Escaping the deep forest and getting into familiar territory, they find their way out completely and climb the cliff to the spot the ceremony first began on day 2. Smoke rises from the forest a few miles away, near the mountain in fact.

"I'm pretty sure if that first creature never showed up when it did, so many more would have gotten out at some point." Blake says, crossing her arms and Tai turned away from it.

"True, soon other people will come to investigate the fire and they'll find out why the factory was there. In the meantime, we should get you back to your teammates. Did you tell them you'd be out long?"

Blake shakes her head no. "I didn't think we'd be out this long, actually. The moon is high too, so it will be a good, comfortable night to walk to the store."

"The store?"

"Unless you have something I can work with in as far as food, yes." Blake begins walking, Tai just now remembering about the dinner bet. "You are buying though."

"What? Why?"

"It was your suggestion."

From there, they managed to make it to a grocery super store and while she went shopping, Tai quickly made his way to the nearby department store holding appliances like pots, pans, and the like, and managed to get back to her and pay for the groceries too. Getting to the school, Blake is walking with a paper bag in her arms while Tai looks like a human pack mule, carrying bags on his arms, in his hands, and in his arms. Carefully making their way through the halls and to their room areas, Blake stands in front of his door and waits for him to catch up.

"You can just go in, it's open." Tai says while still walking towards her. Blake opens it and makes her way in and looks around his room. His looks exactly the same as theirs, the only difference is his has far more space due to having only 1 bed. It is kept neat and the cloak that he arrived in caught her eye on the wall. It looked like it was singed but it was not burning away at all, almost as if it were alive in an eerie way.

Placing down the load of groceries and huge appliance bags off of his back, he sighs in relief. Human or not, nothing works you like carrying groceries. Blake looks at his bags and boxes, then something strikes her mind.

"How am I supposed to cook in here? I'm pretty sure I'd have to use the kitchen in the hall downstairs."

"Don't worry, I have something. In the mean time, you should at least inform your team you are around. I would have to think that it would be the best thing to do." In the hallway, Weiss and Ruby walk around the corner and are headed toward their room.

"I'm just saying, Weiss." Ruby seemed to continue, both of them wearing their night clothes. "Blake gets really into a book sometimes."

"But she's not in the library and all of her books are still in the room, I think." Weiss puts a finger to her chin, Ruby pointing at her with a grin.

"Ah hah! You think! You have no idea if she's just reading or not, so you can't say she isn't."

"Well, if she never left her scroll then we'd know by now! Who knows what she's doing?" Just then, Tai's door opens down the way and he walks out, Blake following soon after.

"Blake…?" Ruby whispers, Weiss grabbing Ruby's arm and hides around the corner, poking her head out. Ruby does the same, looking between the 2. "That's where she's been? Well that's good, she was just hanging out- Ow!" Weiss pounds her head gently.

"Shhh!" She beckons her, trying to listen for anything they said.

"I'm going to set things up, but I won't look into the bags." Tai says, turning to her. Blake had moved so her back was to the 2 who eavesdrop and nods.

"Ok, I'll let you know when I'm coming back."

"No need, just walk in." Blake shakes her head against his openness.

"I'm still going to tell you anyway."

"Fine." Tai puts his hands up in surrender. "I got it, but you might want to change clothes."

Blake raises an eyebrow and looks slightly confused. "Why?"

" _I can't hear anything._ " Ruby whispers, Weiss looking down at her.

" _Me either, I- *_ gasp*" Weiss starts but then they both gasp as Tai closes his eyes and gets close to Blake's face while holding her cheek. Blake jumps and blushes fiercely at the sudden movement, Tai stopping close to her face, very close. He sniffs her and then opens his eyes.

"You're singed. If they smell this on you, they are going to worry." He pointed out, Blake still blushing. She had become used to the scent so she hardly noticed, but her teammates would definitely be able to tell. To Ruby and Weiss' point of view, it looks like a kiss.

" _Well, good for her, right Weiss?_ " Ruby smiles and looks up to Weiss but she looks more angry than anything.

" _She left us just to… just to go be with THIS guy? She could've just said so instead of lying!_ " Weiss grits her teeth, staring at them.

" _That's a bit extreme Weiss, so she went to see a boyfriend. What's the harm right?_ "

" _Soon, she'll start skipping more than just practice._ "

" _Are you sure you're not just, I don't know, jealous?_ " Ruby asks, just to receive another soft thump to the head. " _I guess not…_ "

The pair duck into cover as Blake turns around and starts walking to her room, not only with a blush but a smile on her face. Today may have been strange, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Once she entered her room, Tai turns and faces his open doorway. But instead of going in right away, his eyes look right at the corner Weiss and Ruby are at, seeing Ruby just poke her head out. Her silver eyes caught his red ones, a look of reassurance being traded between them. Ruby felt a sudden calm wash over her and she smiles, Tai smiling as well and then enters his room, Ruby closing her eyes slowly. She knew that no matter what happened, Blake was safe with him.

"Come on Weiss." Ruby walks around the corner, Weiss following after. "And Weiss, let's not ask her about what just happened."

"What? Why?" Weiss spreads her arms out and waves them about. "I want to know what that was about!"

"Don't worry, Weiss. No matter what happened or why it did, she made it to us safe and sound. That's really why you want to know, right?" Weiss stops flailing, putting her arms down. She has a point, Blake is safe and no matter what Weiss says, that's really all that matters.

"Hm… you're right again, leader. I guess that kiss never happened, huh?" Weiss surrenders and walks to the room, opening the door and leaving it open for Ruby to walk in. When Ruby walked in a few seconds later, Weiss was sitting on her bed talking to Yang.

"Then he totally kissed her." She was explaining. Yang gasped, then a smirk grew on her face.

"That's awesome! She must've had a good time."

"Weiss!" Ruby hisses, puts her hands on her hips and glares at her.

"What?! She wanted to know where Blake was!" Weiss protests, Yang shrugging her shoulders.

"I was gonna ask Blake but she just jumped into the bathroom after saying 'I'm going to be heading back out soon.' So I asked Weiss." Ruby did notice Blake wasn't in the direct room, so she did seem to be in the bathroom. "I'm gonna go talk to her."

"Why?" Ruby folds her arms.

"Because if she had fun, I want to hear about it. After all, not much really happens around here so she could've been at a park for all we know." Yang smiles and stands up. "I'm not going to interrogate her like Weiss would."

"Hey!" Weiss folds her arms too, sticking out her lower lip.

"Besides, I gotta bathe anyways." Grabbing a yellow towel, she walks to the bathroom, passing Kei on the way. Blake is in the tub, filled with hot soothing water and the fresh aroma of blossoms and lilies. Her body is submerged as well as half of her face, her hair spread across the surface of the steaming waters. She takes deep breathes, letting out all of her feelings and letting the water work its miraculous job on her. Opening her eyes to hearing sounds beside her, she sees Yang get in the tub in front of her with a big smirk on her face.

"How ya doing, Blake?" She asks sheepishly.

Lifting herself up so she could speak, she takes a big gulp of the fresh air around her. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Yang rests her arm on the rim of the tub, the water just over her nipples. "You look happy to me."

"I guess so." She couldn't hide her smile from her partner. "I've had one hell of an evening, but it's not over yet."

"Oh? Why is that?" Blake looks away for a second then tells Yang about the sparring and bet, even about the factory they found. Yang listens to her story, but noticed that the whole time Blake seemed enthusiastic about, not missing a detail with a smile on her face. After she was finished, Yang looks up to the ceiling and gives out a quick huff.

"So I have to go back, since I lost the bet." Blake finishes, Yang blinking rapidly.

"Well, what are you waiting for then? Oh, I've got an idea…" Yang stands up in the tub and puts her hands up, groping at the air with her palms while looking at Blake mischievously. "How about we soften you up for him and stuff." A sweat drop forms on Blake's brow along with an even deeper blush than the hot water gave her.

"I don't think it's that serious, Yang." She said while looking away. "It's not a date or anything, just owning up to a bet."

"Do you have any idea what could happen afterwards? Let me give you a hint!" A red glint appears in her eyes as she looks upon her prey.

"I-I think it's ok… Yang? …Yang!"

Shouts came from the bathroom, Weiss, Ruby, and Kei all sipping coffee while looking at text books. Rumbling came from the bathroom, water swishing around feverishly.

"Think she's ok?" Weiss asks, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Probably not." Kei says, sipping his coffee. "Yang's going in in there."

"C'mon! Let me squeeze 'em!" She cries from the bathroom.

"Stop groping me!"

"Yup." Ruby says, sipping her coffee. "The towel is a bit late this time."

"I've got it." Weiss holds out her hand and when she does, a towel flies from the bathroom, landing into Weiss hand while she was reading.

"No towel for you!"

"Argh! Stop being a pest!"

A few minutes later, Yang comes the bathroom triumphant, doing what she set out to do with Blake. A few moments later, Blake walks out in her kimono, but something seemed different about it. Not only that, Blake didn't look as happy as Yang, her bow drooping as well. They all look up at them, Ruby looking at Yang first.

"What did you do, Yang?"

"Nothing baby sister! Just got a wardrobe change out of Blakey here." She wraps an arm around Blake's neck, keeping her close and on her right breast. Ruby and the gang look at Blake, not noticing a difference in her clothes at all.

"Hm… I don't see it." Weiss said, looking at Blake up and down slowly.

"You're not going to!" Yang says proudly, turning to Kei. "But you will." The black haired teen raised an eyebrow.

"I don't get it." He says in a lackluster tone. Yang then holds Blake out like a new kitten, Kei looking at her feet first then going up. He then stops and realized what the change was. "Oh." Blake blushes, her hair covering her eyes and Ruby and Weiss look at each other.

"What is it?" Ruby asks, Kei hitting his face with his bare palm and shaking his head.

"Her kimono is down more so she has more cleavage. She stretched out the neck so it hangs a bit lower." He points out, and when the girls looks back, sure enough Blake's kimono was seemingly forced down more and showed her bust a small bit more.

"I don't get it." Weiss puts her hands on her hips. "How did you notice that and not us?"

"Cause he's a guy." Yang says while letting Blake go. "Of course you guys wouldn't notice because you see Blake all the time. But to someone who doesn't see this part of Blake or just guys in general, it's an obvious change."

Ruby quietly says, "That doesn't make any sense." Weiss stares at Yang with a frown.

"So then that means your shirt you wear around Kei all the time is your way of getting his attention all the time? You are pretty busty, you know." Yang blushes and shakes her head quickly.

"NO! That's totally not the point here!" She quickly defends herself.

"You worry me." Weiss says, going back to sip her coffee.

"Anyway… why are you changing her clothes up? She's just going to sleep." Ruby asks.

"Yup. She'll be in his bed by 9, but sleep at 11." Yang says with a slick grin.

"…What?" Ruby looks confused, Kei hissing in the background and whizzes his hand above his head like something went over his head.

"Swing and a miss." He says quietly.

"Ok, let me tell you slowly." Yang holds onto both of Ruby's shoulders and looks her in the eyes. "Blake is going to be spending the night with Tai and she'll come back here in the morning."

"…Ok?" Ruby response, not really understanding the big deal about it.

"Oh how I wish I had this blissful innocence…" Yang quietly says with tears streaming down her eyes. She then quickly goes to Blake who is slipping on her slippers, looking up at Yang.

"I never said I would spend the night." She points out, standing back up. Just as she reaches for her scroll to notify Tai, Yang yoinks it away and puts it in her shirt.

"Well you are now." Yang pushes Blake out of the door and then shuts it behind Blake, locking it behind her. "No matter how much you ask or scratch at the door, you are not allowed in here tonight!"

Looking at the door behind her, Blake rolls her eyes and starts to walk toward Tai's room "That's a bit extreme…" Blake approaches his door and looks down at herself, feeling silly for letting Yang do this to her. Blushing, her eyebrows twitch and she attempts to fix her 'issue', trying to lift the hem of the kimono. However, it was stretched out of even if it goes up over her breasts, it still slides back down slowly. Cupping herself, she tries to at least make them less visible but before she could try anything, she noticed a draft at her feet and looks up to see Tai standing there, wearing a black tank top and black pants with zippers around the shins.

"I'm flattered, but I don't think you need to do all of this." Tai points to Blake's kimono and she still stands there in a shocked state while holding her breasts. "You still look great, Blake." The compliment melts her from the state she was in putting her hands to her sides and pushing past him. She stopped shortly after though when she sees the big empty space from before now has a hot table and small kitchen utensils on top of it. A rice cooker sits next to a small deep dish pan and table cloth for the skirt of the table. 2 cushions sit on both sides of the table and a fire is seen within the table, though it looks more like an electronic fire.

"When did you get all this?" Blake asks, turning around to face him.

"When we were out. Of course I had to assemble it and get permission to use it but I think I didn't do too bad. The groceries are still untouched so no worries. If you need me to help cook, I-"

"No, I can do it." Blake then carefully puts both hands on his shoulders and turns him around. "You have to get out now." As she pushes him out, he looks over his shoulder confused.

"Why do I have to leave…?"

"I don't want you to watch me. So come back in 15 minutes." Blake holds onto the door then shuts it behind him.

After a few moments, Tai scratches his head. "What just happened?"

" _Sooo~ How are things?"_

" _I just got here Yang…"_

" _Blake, things can happen very fast."_

" _Right… I'm calling from his scroll since you have mine."_

" _Mhmm, about what?"_

" _I forgot to mention this, but earlier after we sparred, we talked about strong fighters and I think I want your opinion on this. Who do you think is stronger: Tai or Kei?"_

" _Hm… I'd say Kei. I mean, we've all seen what he can do, but we haven't seen what HE can do."_

" _I have, actually. He did save me more than once."_

" _And what do you think?"_

" _That's why I brought it up. Maybe… ow that's hot… we should get them to fight."_

" _How? If you think he's that good, what about tomorrow for practice? It'll be in the school so if they duke it out, it'll be A-ok since is there."_

" _You're right. I've got to go, I have to finish cutting everything."_

" _Enjoy your date!"_

" _It's not-"_

 _*_ Click*

Yang hangs up on her, Blake closing the scroll and shaking her head slowly. She dismisses Yang and carefully cuts into a beautiful piece of salmon. A few minutes go by and Tai is simply sitting on the floor near his door with his eyes closed, waiting for the time to be up. He didn't think he'd be in this predicament, but if it wasn't for her, he'd probably just have waited to eat something in the morning. But the food started to smell good and its scents seeped out of his room and began flooding the hallway. His stomach growled, taking him by surprise, and he holds it.

"Wow, I didn't think this would get to me. Then again…" He looks up at the dark ceiling, a small smile on his face. "When's the last time I enjoyed a home cooked dinner? Ha, seems like a few decades ago really." Suddenly rumbling and commotion started to ensue in the room across from RWBY's room.

"Nora! Calm down!" A female's voice pleaded. It sounded like Pyrrha's voice, as he already knew Nora's and she was the only other female in that room.

"What's gotten into you?!" Jaune protests. It seems that Nora is causing a commotion but why?

Inside the room, Nora, who is wearing a dark grey T-shirt with 'boop' written on it and pink shorts with white lightning designs on it, is standing on a bed with a finger pointed to nowhere in particular. She stands around Ren who is under covers between her legs trying to be passive about the matter. Jaune is standing in the middle of the room in his manly one piece sky blue bunny pajamas and holding his hands up.

"Nora, what's the matter?!" He tries to calm her down but she just clutches her orange hair and stirs it up. Pyrrha, still in her uniform, is behind Jaune, trying to help calm her down.

"NOOO!" She jumps off of the bed and gets right in their face with glittery eyes. "Don't you see it?!" Nora gingerly places her fingers around her face and closes her eyes. "The sound of sizzling salmon. The elegant slices of beef. The cold simplicity of white rice!" Nora kneels down and raises her hands up in the air. "The shimmy and shake of the salt and pepper!"

"What are you talking about? Gah-!" Jaune falls back as Nora jumps up and mounts Jaune, straddling his waist and resting her hands around his head.

"Of course it wouldn't be complete without the savory broth and vegetables." She leans forward, Pyrrha blushing and Jaune utterly lost as she gets close to his ears and whispers, "Vegetables…" Rocketing upward she disappears completely and is somehow behind Pyrrha. "It's a wonderful time in the melting pot of food! Utensils and tastes and flavors, oh my!"

"I don't smell anything." She states, looking behind her and Nora is in the hallway, clasping at the air like she grabbed a ladybug and closes the door again. She shakes the invisible contents and then jets over to Pyrrha again, clasping her hands behind her.

"Food…Com…bo…ha!" Nora lunges her hands at her, throwing the 'air' she was holding at her, a pink glitter surrounding Pyrrha as she tried waving it away. Her eyes then became wide, smelling a delectable meal of assorted flavors. "Oh my… It smells so refined… It's like a gentle hand that graces the unfortunate. It's quite good!" Pyrrha holds her head and shakes it, falling to the ground from the over exaggerated smells and pressure.

"Pyrrha no!" Jaune stands over her, Pyrrha uttering random foods quietly.

"Green peppers… Onions sautéed, not fried… Lean marble beef…" She was lost in Nora's spell, Nora herself going out and clasping another pocket of air and stands behind Jaune with a hard glare staring him down. Jaune turns quickly, Nora holding a swirling glittery air ball in her right hand.

"C'mon Nora, we can talk about this… How about you and Ren cook something like it?" Jaune tries to back up, by Pyrrha was blocking his feet.

"I already told you…" Nora says determined. "I will never…" The swirling glitter glows pink and intensifies. "Give up!" She ran at him and held the ball out to him. "Food-sengan!" The air hits Jaune's diaphragm, warping his pajamas with a slight twist. The smell overwhelms him and he starts to physically twist over Pyrrha.

Jaune whispers, "Mom's home cooking…" then spins ungracefully into his bed, Nora standing triumphant. She turns to Ren and sits next to him, a small bit of pink glittery air in her hand.

"Want some?" She asks softly, Ren looking at her then back to the wall.

"No thanks." He says calmly, Nora beaming intensely.

"Ok."

"Goodnight Nora." With that, she jumps into her bed and lies under the covers, the glitter trailing to him anyway.

"Night~!" She exclaims, quickly falling asleep.

"Hmm…green herbal tea…" Ren says quietly and resumes trying to rest.

Tai, sitting outside the room still, tries to ignore the happenings in that room even when he sees Nora grasp the air twice when she steps out the door. Letting his head rest against the wall, a few more minutes go by and from within his own room, Blake's voice cuts the silence. "You can come in now." Unable to tell if it was 15 minutes or not, he stands up and stretches his arms out, opening his door to be comforted by a warm breeze and flavorful aroma.

Spreading across the table neatly are small white bowls and black plates with gorgeous assorted foods and some that sizzle quietly on the cooking area of the hot table. There is naso dengaku (roasted eggplant with miso paste) beside 2 potato croquettes on 2 black plates adjacent from each other, agedashi tofu (fried tofu with tempura sauce) in a white bowl with light brown sauce he was unfamiliar with (tempura), raw tuna and prawn salmon nigiri (raw fish thinly cut over rice/ sushi) in neat rows on a single long white plate, 2 omelets on the hot table cooking very slowly on the downside and a hearty bowl of beef stew between them simmering with glossy grace with chunks of beef, carrots, celery, and even some tuna! And beside the 2 adjacent plates are 2 filling white bowls of simple, clean, shining white rice with a pair of chopsticks over them but a silver fork on the side on a white, floral designed napkin. Rounding up this beautiful scene is Blake herself who put her hair back while she had cooked and her kimono is still questionably low but that sight is overtaken by the glow of her skin from the moon that peers its light through the window and highlights her amber eyes and black bow atop her head.

"Well? What do you think?" She asks quietly, looking up at him since she's kneeling on a side already. Walking over to the table carefully, he sits down on the other side of her, looking at the food and her, taking it all in. The wind blew gently and that wind was just enough to close the door shut that he left open quietly. The wind blows through her hair and she fixes some loose strands over her right ear, looking at the food and him too.

"I'll be damned, I can't give you a real answer here…" Tai finally speaks, shaking his head slowly. "I can't say it smells good or great. I can't say this is all beautiful or the best thing I've even seen. I can't even say that you are a fine cook or woman all together. It just… wouldn't be enough. I can't find the right words to tell you since this is above and beyond anything I can say." Blake's cheeks become red, rubbing her left arm quietly. "I haven't seen a meal that comes close to this in years, and I thought that THAT was the best but this is overwhelming. The only real thing I can say is thank you." Tai looks up at her and she to him. "Really, thanks."

"You're welcome." She responds with a smile on her face. "I haven't cooked for anyone in a long time so to hear that is… nice." Shaking her head, she picks up her chopsticks and points it at his food. "Just make sure to eat it before it gets cold." She added quickly, waiting for him to do the same. Looking between the fork and the chopsticks, he grabs the chopsticks and would rather fail eating with it than using a boring fork.

"Wait a second, how did this take you 25 minutes to do?" Tai grabs the bowl of rice and slowly grabs a makeshift ball of rice. Already starting on her own, Blake swallows her food before responding.

"It took more time than that. I guessed you'd be fine with it so I cooked for over 45 minutes." She says casually, Tai mixing some of the food he has together while trying the stew on its own.

"You could've taken an hour, no fucks would have been given when something like this is being made." After trying all the food, Tai slowly nods and Blake looks up to him with a confused look.

"What is it?"

"I also noticed something rather, tragic with the food." Blake frowns, squinting at him. "It's almost gone." Blake's eyes grow wide, then she covers her mouth and eyes as she starts to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Ahah hah hah… For someone that likes to be alone, you know how to say the right things."

"It's not that I like being a loner, but it suits me and I'd rather be one." After eating all that he could, not leaving anything behind, he placed his bowl down and let out a satisfied sigh. "I'm going to have to leave some day and I'd rather not try to hurt anyone when I do." Blake still has some food left, as she could not eat as fast as he was.

"Well, when do you have to leave?"

"When I find a certain 'object' that someone has. I know who does, but they are hard to find." Blake looks down at her food and Tai can see a sort of faint sadness in her face. This is what he meant just moments ago, but he knew it was too late but frankly… He didn't mind this time. "But I'm putting it on hold for right now, just so I can do more around here. Hopefully, we can spend more time together while I do."

"Uh…sure." A smile returns to her face, Tai getting up and stretching, genuinely full.

"Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep now." He declares, Blake looking up at him.

"Ok, goodnight then-! What are you doing?!" Blake leans back as Tai suddenly lays next to her on the floor with his head in her lap. She felt her heart jump when he looks up at her.

"Going to sleep?" Tai looks straight up at her, between her breasts right up to her eyes. "The view is a bonus."

"…" Blake accepted her cloth malfunction and sighs, smiling a little bit again. "Ok. Just don't expect to be there much longer."

"That's fine. I'm going to enjoy you while it lasts then." The comment not only makes Blake blush but her heart perform cartwheels in her chest. "Still, I do want to ask a favor. Can you take off your bow? You are pretty either way, I just wanna see-" Blake bops him in his forehead, cutting him off.

"Just go to sleep." Blake says shallowly, Tai taking that as a 'no'.

"Can't say I didn't try." He concedes, closing his eyes and a few moments later, he is fast asleep. Blake tries finishing the food she could but hardly moves, keeping Tai on her lap. Moving back very slowly to the soft edge of his bed, she pulls off the blanket and covers them both, Tai covered completely. Figuring it would be fine, she warps the blanket so it covers her legs and him but avoids his face, her arms going above her head and undoes the bow, letting it slip down and her little feline ears wiggled freely. Resting against the softness of the bed, she found herself asleep soon after.

The next morning…

Waking up to the sound of an alarm clock, Blake opens her eyes slowly and sits up, stretching her arms out and letting out a soft yawn. She looks around and see's she's lying in Tai's bed with the blanket and all. Looking for Tai, he was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear the sound of dripping water within the bathroom and the smell of hot water and soap. The hot table, food, and dishes were all cleaned and neatly compiled in a corner beside the nightstand by the bed which held the alarm clock. Although simple, she did not remember an alarm clock there before. Stepping out of the bed, she noticed that she felt heavier and then she looks down at herself, not seeing her kimono but a large black t-shirt on her. Looking at herself, it was long sleeve and covered her pretty well so she stands up and safely lifts it up, seeing her kimono underneath. At some point, Tai must have put it on her but not taken off her kimono to do so.

With a sigh of relief, she pulls off the shirt over her head and folds it up, placing it on the bed and her ears jerk when she hears the bathroom door open across the way. Tai had obviously gotten out of the shower since his hair is damp, and all he wore was school pants with a white towel around his neck.

"Ah, you woke up. How'd you sleep?" He asks, Blake looking at him up and down admiring ever muscle she could see. To her surprise, she didn't see any scars or blemishes.

"Fine. When did you get this clock?" Blake asks, pointing to it.

"Oh, Ruby brought it over. That along with these." Leaning forward, Tai picks up a handful of her school uniform, folded neatly with a scroll on top. "Don't worry, any undergarments are between the clothes." Quickly snatching them away, Blake goes into his bathroom and closes the door in a surprisingly controlled manner. He forgot this was Blake, she usually doesn't let things get to her. Getting ready himself, he managed to get fully dressed and ready before she opens the door to the bathroom again.

"I need a towel." Blake holds out a hand through the door, Tai looking around for a different one. However, he was currently washing them and he only has one.

"I only have one at the moment." He tells her. "Technically it's still newer."

"…" He hands it to her anyway, Blake slowly pulling it back. He then sees her bow on the night stand and carefully straightens it out and as she emerges from the bathroom fully dressed and dry, she points a finger at him. "Never. Again."

"That's fine. You may want this." Tai holds out her bow to her and she realizes that her ears are exposed to him. Before she began to panic, he holds his other hand up to her. "Don't worry, I never saw them." He hands her the bow, walking away from her as she looks down at it then him. "But let me say, you look better without the bow." Getting his books together then turns back to her, Blake fully wrapping up the ears. A few minutes later, they left the room together.

"I should find my team." Blake says, looking at her room. "Ruby and I have our first class together."

"No problem." Locking the door, Tai notices that she has his shirt in her arms, but he says nothing about it. "Oh, I never got to say, but yesterday was a lot of fun."

"I agree. Next time though, I'd rather not find a hoard of robot Grimm." Blake smiles and waves as she walks to her room, Tai going the opposite way. When Blake enters her room, she is greeted by 3 beaming faces causing Blake to immediately regret her decision.

"Sooo~?" Yang was the first to talk. "How'd it go? Did you enjoy yourself?" She then nudges Blake with a raised eyebrow. "Did he pet the kitty or what?"

"What? Yes, it was fine." Blake thinks about this for a few seconds until she realizes the slick joke behind it. "NO HE DIDN"T! I… Uh…" Blake was about to answer but Weiss hand pointed into her arms.

"Is that yours?" She examines it closer. "No, that's totally not your shirt. You wear his clothes too?"

"Hey!" Ruby interrupts. "What's wrong with that? It's a nice shirt… It's clean."

"You dolt! That means she wasn't wearing anything before!"

"So what?!" Ruby shouts. Blake sighed, already wanting to go back to the hallway.

The school day went by normally, boring and slow. Until the time the students gathered in the auditorium to do some fighting practice. Pyrrha had fought against a student named Wolf and won, the dark toned male bowing in defeat with his orange tank top and black jeans then walked back to sit with his team. holds her hand out to Pyrrha who bows toward her.

"Excellent job, . That was a hard fought victory so well done to both of you." She starts. "Now, as you know, the students chosen to fight will be at random. So, as a test, I will choose 2 students at random and even if they are on the same team, they can still spar, for this example."

"I hope I get to fight." Yang whispers to Ruby who sat beside her.

"You always want to fight." She whispers back.

"So? It's more fun here anyways." The electronic board scrolls between student ID pictures rapidly, Yang crossing her fingers. However, the 2 faces that remained on the screen was Kei Neo and Tai Allucard and Yang's fingers uncrossed.

"This is your doing, isn't it?" Blake whispers to Yang, receiving a shake of her head.

"No, I- I never asked her. I forgot!" Yang spoke urgently, Blake confused at her response.

"What's the big deal? This is what we wanted, right?" Blake's collar ended up in Yang's grip, Blake surprised.

"Don't you get it?! If Tai is as strong as you say he is, then you should see why I'm panicking right now!" Yang remembers when she had her own experience with Kei and Blake remembers when Tai protected her and was crushed under debris.

"It'll be fine…" Blake's eyes narrowed, Weiss trying to understand what's happening.

"Hold on. You 2 planned on them fighting in the school?" Weiss scoffed, pointing at them. "Do you have any idea the amount of DAMAGE they can do to the school?"

"It'll be ok." Ruby cuts through them, watching as they walked onto the stage. "They don't have their weapons with them and if anything happens, is there." She was right, they both are unarmed and is too controlled to let it get out of hand.

On the stage, Tai stands a few yards away from Kei. The person in question consisted of jet black hair with brown eyes and wearing a black jacket with orange trimmings around the edges a red t-shirt with an orange fire on it and black jeans. He also wore around his waist is an orange belt and to top off his outfit he wore a small red bandanna worn like a scarf. He also has red armguards on her forearms with bandages underneath. Tai stares at him, noticing he was stronger than he appears, Kei sizing him up the same way. As they gauge each other, Yang flashes with memories of what happened in the forest as well as Blake, who has seen them both.

"Get 'em, Kei!" Yang shouted, waving her fist in the air. Blake on the other hand, didn't know who to root for, her teammate or her interest. Ruby reaches over to Blake and grabs her hand, giving her a comforting smile.

"It's ok to root for him. Someone has to, right?" Ruby patted her hands then sits back in her seat, Blake looking down then up at Tai from a distance. She silently rooted for him, but at least hope they both would be ok.

"You can begin." announced, looking at the 2 young men. She had a feeling of power she could not shake, whether it was coming from one or both of them, she had to watch carefully. Even after she started it, neither of them moved. Tai takes his hands out of his pockets and cracks his knuckles, placing his hands up in a post and Kei does the same, posting up similarly.

"I won't be holding back…" Kei tells him, Tai focusing on him.

"I never planned on it, either…" They both recognized each other as having different powers but the level was nearly the same at their base.

"So then, are you 'the one'?"

"What?"

"Sorry, a little something I saw in a movie." Tai smirks, seemingly teasing the other.

They both dash at each other, slamming their right fists together. Tai kicks at Kei's head, Kei rolling underneath and when Tai turns, he lashes out another kick but receives an uppercut to the face and then gets punched backwards. Quickly, Kei follows up with jabs at his chest, trips Tai, then punches him again. Tai recovers instantly, jumping up at him but instead of kicking from above, he ducks as he lands and punches Kei's gut then knees him in the chest, letting his leg out to kick him to the ground. Kei gets back up but Tai closes in and spin kicks him back down, Kei sliding on his back then flips upright again. Running to him, Kei punches at Tai who blocks them and after a few punches, Kei breaks through the guard and uppercuts Tai again lifting him in the air.

Suddenly, Kei gains a red aura and punches Tai's gut, sending a shockwave through the auditorium, Tai slamming against the wall under the board. Kei rushed significantly faster at him and punches his face, following with repeated punches at Tai's chest until he slumped down and then Kei punches him sideways onto the stage again. After he skids to a stop, Kei jumps onto him and punches his face over and over while on him. Tai gains the glint of silver and kicks Kei off of him, standing up with his fists ready. Kei's red aura gets stronger and lunges a punch at him, but Tai stops it with a single hand and holds him, his clothes igniting with white and his aura glows bright, slugging Kei in the face. Being sent back, Tai closes in and kicks him in the face then twists in the air blindingly fast and lash kicks him hard enough to break the stage under them.

Teleporting behind him, Tai punches Kei in his spine then flashes in front of him, kicking his chest then back flip kicks him upward sending him up. Teleporting above him, Tai slams his foot into Kei's gut into the stage, creating a dust cloud to form. From the cloud, Tai gets pushed out of it when Kei's aura changed to a darker hue of red, but not caring for the change, they rush at each other and Kei punches Tai in the face, sending him back and Tai kicks off of his chest, jarring him to the floor, or what is left of it. Coming together again, Kei powers up a punch and Tai twists and kicks back to clash again, forcing the electric screen to shake and stutter.

Backing away from each other as they pant calmly, Kei puts his hands behind his body, starting to chant. "Ka-…Me-…" Tai clenches his fist, a fire forming around it with gold and it glows bright as energy collects between Kei's cupped hands. "Ha-… Me-…"

 _I've heard this chant somewhere before…_ The energy became brighter in both of his hands and Tai blitzes toward Kei and just before he gets to him...

"That's quite enough!" Ozpin's voice interrupts them and the energy fades as they got close to each other. Tai stares into Kei's eyes who stare back with determination. They both calm down and return back to their 'normal' states, looking to Ozpin who is among the students. "We should stop you before you break my auditorium. I'm sure neither of you want that, correct?" Tai and Kei look around and sure enough, the stage was destroyed around them, a hole in the wall under the electronic board, and the windows shattered everywhere. The students are all in a silent awe, Yang, Blake, and many of the students with their mouths agape from the overwhelming fight. To Tai and Kei, they didn't notice but Glynda herself was in awe too but she quickly composed herself and glares at the 2 teens.

"I'm ending the session here." She started, pushing her glasses up. "Clearly, you 2 alone are capable of representing Beacon Academy very easily. But I must remind you BOTH to not go this far unless the situation desperately calls for it. Do I make myself clear?"

"I haven't even gotten serious…" Tai said to himself, Kei folding his arms.

"You and I both."

"DO I make myself clear?" Glynda snaps at them, both of them nodding politely to her.

"Yes ma'am." Kei says while Tai stayed silent.

"Furthermore, I forbid you 2 from fighting each other in Vale." Glynda mandates. "I don't want you two destroying a single building, anywhere. Understood?"

"I could not promise you that." Tai states, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry, , I can't guarantee anything."

"Excuse me?" she starts to raise a hand but Ozpin stands in front of her.

"I understand you two will not be able to avoid fighting one another, I remember I was the same way. I simply ask you 2 to make sure that when you fight, remember your surroundings." He holds a hand out to the students. "We don't want to endanger your fellow classmates and teammates, do we?"

"No sir." Kei said, nodding. Tai turns away from them, walking off of the stage.

"Understood."

"You are all dismissed. I'm sure being sent away early must be hard for you all." Ozpin says with a smile on his face. Once everyone is scattered about, team RWBY runs to catch Kei, Tai far ahead of them.

Ruby stands in front of Kei, looking up at him. "That…was…AWESOME!" She jumps up and down in excitement. "It was like a fight in the movies or action stories! Or like the tales when 2 titans clash and destroy everything except they didn't destroy everything!" Weiss is in shock too along with Yang and Blake but she was containing herself.

"How did it feel when you fought him?" Yang was enthusiastic, ringing his neck with her right arm. "At first, I thought you were gonna win super quickly but he was stronger than I thought!"

"He is strong, but…" Kei started, looking Tai's way. "There is something off. I don't know what it is." _No…it's just my imagination._ Coming from behind, Pyrrha grabs his shoulder, twists him around and holds him into her chest.

"THAT was really awesome Kei. You've grown stronger than anyone I've ever known." She says full of glee.

"Hey! Back up Nikos." Yang inserts, blushing and growling. "He needs to breath!" She starts to pull him away, Blake escaping them and catching up to Tai. Tai stops walking, Blake standing behind him.

"You ok?" She asks, looking down at first. "I thought you guys were going to tear the building down."

"We probably would have." Tai turns around to her, not a scratch on him. Kei had none either. "He's very strong, I figured that much out."

"What are you going to do now? He's my teammate too so, if you want to train with him…"

"No." He holds up a hand then places it on her shoulder. "I'll be ok. I am quite content with the partner I have." Blake blushes at the statement, smiling and grabs his hand.

"Try not to overdo it, ok?" Blake smiles and then blushes even more when he gets close and give her a hug.

"I won't. Thank you for your concern." Backing up, he puts a hand up and starts to walk away. "I'll catch you later. Make sure everyone is good over there." Blake nods and turns, walking away smiling.

 _He may be my teammate, and I do care for him. But you will be the one I root for…_

* * *

 **That same day…**

Within the dark confinement that is a small, cold room is a small bed holding a single person inside huddled in a red sheet in fetal position. This individual is panting, her breath shallow and filled with pain as she is accompanied by a dark shadowy figure along the wall. This shadow is Cinder, tapping her heels in the silence.

"You know… one of the facilities we had were destroyed yesterday." She starts. "Do you know by who?"

"…" The woman did not respond. Cinder walks over to her and raises a hand, a stinging slap sound is echoed off the walls.

"You WILL cooperate. I can kill you just as easily as the others. Little mistakes like you are what bother me almost as much as your disobedient behavior.

"…" She only regained her composer to sit up straight, ignoring the pain.

"That's fine. You don't have to talk right now anyway. You have SO much work ahead of you soon, don't you worry." She begins to walk towards the closed door. "I have to make preparations for it first. Then we will kill that wrench in my plans, Tai." She opens the door and as she leaves out, the stationary woman eases her breath.

"Tai?" She whispers. "The voice… says he's… he's…" She mumbles. Cinder hears this low mumble and stays still.

"Shut up, you delusional wretch. The only voice you hear is mine." Cinder slams the door, leaving her inside alone once again.

"He… he will h-help… I know it…" Her voice still trembles but she tries to remain calm. "And he… will kill her… heh… Just wait."

* * *

The character known as 'Kei Neo' is an original character from another content creator creating an interlinked story with my own. I highly suggest checking out this content creator as he is more consistent and a fantastic writer; DBKai42- RWBY Rock the Dragon, the title should not be hard to find.


	6. A Burning Soul

A Burning Soul

(Highly recommended to play the **Gates of Hell mp.3** for the scene) Inside a small, dim lit café known as The Gates of Hell, a record player plays a soft, mellow jazz tune, the nearly empty café atmosphere warm and inviting. There are assorted wooden round tables and chairs, as well as a counter with wooden stools lined up. Atop the wooden counter in front of shelves of glass bottles holding champagne and wines, a glass filled with water and ice chills on it in front of a cloaked figure with a huge sheath on his back. On the opposite side of the counter, a tall, buff dark skinned man stands wearing a black tank top covered in an open brown jacket holding a glass and towel. His black sunglasses reflect the shine of his small lights above his bald head.

"Well, well, well." The grown, deep voice cuts through the music. "Haven't seen you in quite some time. Don't forget about your pal Rodin, now."

"Yeah, I know." Tai sighs. "I've been busy in this world man."

"Busy?" Rodin raises an eyebrow. "Boy, you've been procrastinating your ass off. Have you even found the shard yet?" He picks up the clean shot glass and passes it into the light to see it shine. "I bet you forgot that too."

"No, I did not forget. I have had to entertain some people and I did owe a debt. So attending this academy was the least I can do to pay it back."

"Hmm… Bullshit." Rodin puts the glass back down. "Who cares about that? You've been doing it for years: Go into a world, find the woman who has the shard in her, take it, and leave. It ain't hard kid. You even sent me the cutest little bird."

"Ah, the Nevermore. What did you do with it?" Tai folds his arms, watching Rodin.

"That's what they call it? Thought it was a really fat pigeon."

"Rodin."

"Easy, you know I did my usual work."

"I don't know what you do to them, and I don't want to, I just know that I should be able to summon it, right?"

"Yeah. Which, again, you're late to. Can you tell me how summoning an Infernal Demon affects that world? Have you even tried yet?"

"No. I didn't need to, everything is pretty underwhelming in this world so I think I may not have to."

"Now that you mentioned it, you know you will now right?"

"Probably." Rodin turns away and grabs a tall bottle of crystal clear water and pops it open, pouring a small glass with it.

"I see you also think you can change the subject. If you haven't found that shard yet, you need to high tail it outta here and go get it."

"I know who has it Rodin." Tai opens his left hand, Rodin placing the glass into his hand. "The woman who has it this time, she knows about it."

"And?"

"AND I can't just kill her and take it, otherwise I would have. She has been doing something with it, I just don't know what."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you like her and you tryin' to get some before you take it. But of course, you aren't. You can always slide Rodin some if you know what I mean."

"Not even close. I'll find Cinder and-"

"Whoa, you know her name too?" Rodin chuckles. "You really are taking your sweet time. What exactly are you waiting for? Are you trying to help this world with their problems too?"

"Not really…"

"That's not a no. It's almost like you have a heart or feelings or something. Heh heh…"

"…" Tai only sighs, standing up from the stool, closing his eyes and starts to walk away. "Whatever. I'm out."

"Don't worry, I'm just fuckin' with ya." Rodin leans onto the counter and peers at Tai through his glasses. "Do what you have to do. Or continue to waste time. The only time you're wasting is your own, and then when something happens that you will regret, it'll be no one's fault but your own. Next time I see you, you better have some news."

The students cry in a unison of relief why the classes are over and the time for the Vytal Festival is upon them and the students file out of the building an in organized fashion. Above them, Tai lies on the roof of the exit where the students pour from. Staring up into the passing clouds, he slips his hands behind his head and began to meditate on his situation.

 _It has been a few months already, hasn't it? It really flew by faster than I would have liked… and how much do I really know?_ He inhales deeply and exhales in disappointment towards himself. _You would think after a hundred years, I would have this down. But I had to mess up again, of course, otherwise I wouldn't have any issues. Can't imagine what that's like._ Sitting up, Tai peers over the ledge in time to see RWBY talking amongst themselves as well as other teams simply enjoying each others' company. _I got caught up in this with the rest of them. Shame on me._ Using his hands, he pushed up on his knee to help him stand, looking up into the sky once more.

 _Let's try to make it up these next few days before some shit goes down._ While looking up, a single black bird is soaring by at a slow pace as it passes the Sun, a bit closer to the building. Tai stares at it for a second and a glint catches his eye that indicates something shiny pointed at him or his direction, causing him to frown. From below, Ruby sees this bird and gazes for a few moments, remembering the bird she ran into during initiation and becomes sad but that is immediately replaced with happiness.

"Go on birdie, live on." Ruby whispers quietly. Moments later, a black chain enters her field of view at breakneck speed and pierces the bird above. For Ruby, her mouth hangs open in disbelief, for Tai however he hears a clang, as if metal met metal. As the bird is then yanked from the sky, Ruby following it to see the chain coming from Tai's left sleeve which is extended out to the bird that eventually lands in his palm.

 _That's what I thought…_ In his hand is what looks like a small bird but is just a robotic bird wearing bird feathers and skin split open from the chain. Around the neck is a small collar with a lens which is what grabbed Tai's attention, a small red light flickering within it. _It's some type of camera, perhaps surveillance robot. Crap…_ Tai hits his head with his other palm. _It probably is so they can watch the students, you ass. That would be the smartest thing to do to watch so many students._ He sighs and throws it behind him. "Oh well. I destroyed it anyway so too late now. I hope I do NOT have to pay for it." Tai vanishes in a white light, leaving the carcass behind him, the red light still flickering and broadcasting. Broadcasting where?

On the screen of a wide scroll, a bird's eye view of the school is being shot as students leave the academy. A moment later, the video jars in random directions as though shaken violently then yanked to a dark screen. The screen brightens up as Tai's face is staring into it, moving it around, then tossed aside to just stare at the rooftop it was discarded on. The person holding the scroll groans, his hands closing the device and pulls out a cigar from his white coat pocket. Placing it in his mouth, he goes into his pocket once more and pulls out a small lighter, flicking it open and cups the front of the cigar and sets it alight. Taking a pull from the cigar, Torchwick slowly exhales, beginning to walk within a large warehouse filled with blue freight containers. Taking his sweet time, he passes freight after freight heading toward a wall with only an elevator door as a feature which opens as he approaches, no buttons indicating that it was opened by another mean.

"Great…" He mumbles, turning back to face the opening as the doors slide shut. "Just when you thought you had it all covered. Damned kid, can't wait to hear this one." He talks to himself as the elevator descends, only a few seconds passing as the elevator comes to a slow halt. Once fully immobile, the doors slide open and reveal a dim lit hallway and a closed steel door on his immediate right. Taking another pull from his cigar, Torchwick resumes walking, passing the door, stopping, then walking backwards to the door's brass knob. Opening the door slowly, he peers into the dark room, then closes the door shut and continues to walk. "She still has that thing too." Nearing the end of the hallway to another door which is a bit more polished, grabs onto the knob and attempts to open it.

Locked. Torchwick frowns in disappointment and pulls out his scroll once more, making a call.

" _You better have some new info, Torchwick._ " The voice answers.

"I just might, but the door is locked. Can you, I don't know, open it?" Torchwick answers sarcastically.

" _You could have knocked._ "

"Yeah, yeah, details." a moment later, the door is opened slowly without the knob turning, nor anyone responsible for opening it from behind. Torchwick rolls his eyes and walks inside the new, more spacious, more technological room. Along the dark blue tiled massive walls are cardboard boxes, thick wires that protrude from behind the walls and snake across the floor, and metallic containers eerily shaped like large coffins. At the center of the room where all of the wires meet is a dome of glass 10feet tall and 5 feet in diameter filled with an illuminated gold liquid. In front of the container is a holographic monitor with 4 separate screens with gauges of assorted collars and a big "0%" symbol in the middle in white text. Cinder, along with Emerald and Mercury, stands before the large holo graphs, Emerald glaring at Torchwick with a disgusted frown.

"Ew…" Emerald hissed, Torchwick rolling his eyes.

"Hello to you too, munchkin." Torchwick then shifts his focus to Cinder. "May I ask: Why exactly did you call me out here in the middle of my… 'transaction'?"

Cinder, casually walking up to Torchwick while staring him in the eyes, folds her arms and responds "I don't know if you know this, but I am the one calling the shots here." Torchwick scoffs, averting his gaze only to be brought back by her gentle left hand. "Besides that, I need you here so the others can stay caught up too." In the background, Emerald shudders, Mercury not really caring about any motions made. "Have you been keeping an eye on Tai Allucard?"

"I was." Torchwick turns away and throws up his right arm as if being held up by cops. "The kid kinda DESTROYED the camera we had on him like some frog catching a fly. That was not exactly cheap to get, not that getting another one would be an issue, but it isn't cheap." He turns back to her, Cinder only standing there listening to him. "So now, I gotta stick my neck out there to make sure he doesn't interfere with any of my plans. There's a huge, HUGE, shipment of Dust coming in a few days and I need to get more. OF course, if you'd like to tell me what we are doing with it, I am all ears."

"The surveillance camera was destroyed?"

"Yes. So how about that dust? Is it for the thing you are still keeping?" Cinder chuckles, mocking him slightly.

"Why would I need any dust for that trash?"

"I wouldn't exactly call her trash." Mercury speaks up, folding his arms calmly. "She isn't like the other ones, she's still alive." Cinder turns her head to him and shrugs nonchalantly.

"How many times do I have to tell you that 'it' is an 'it', not a human? I don't want to keep repeating myself." She scolds Mercury.

"I'm just saying."

"Stop. _Just_ don't say anything. That mock of a human was created from that crystal months ago, ever since I stole half of the Maiden's powers. It was not the first we made but I'll make sure it's the last."

Emerald goes into her pocket and pulls out a dim lit gold shard and tosses it into the air over and over. "How? We can't destroy this thing. It's unbreakable and it's all outta juice now. So using it to destroy her, er… it, wouldn't be possible."

"Simple, dear. We give it back." Ember tosses the shard to Cinder, catching it easily as she examines it in her palm. "This is what Tai is after so I say we just give it to him. Then you guys can do whatever you want with that thing in there."

"The thing, her, it, who cares what you call it?" Torchwick sighs and takes a pull from his cigar. "The girl in the room, how 'bout that? If you made her with enough Aura to make the crystal unusable, how much power does she have?"

"Hahaha, no Torchwick." Cinder waves her hand holding the crystal. "I didn't do anything like that. If you remember, I had a little confrontation with Tai some time ago. Well, I used this here to protect myself, this WAS my power before the Maiden's so it's not like I can't use it. Wasting such valuable energy on that garbage would be a crime."

"Hah… crime." Mercury whispers, Emerald looking him up and down.

"I still have that money if you want to stop talking." Emerald says to him.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"No thanks."

"Ugh…"

Torchwick looks over to the glass dome filled with the gold liquid and takes 3 steps forward, looking up at it. "So what do you do with this stuff then? I hardly even know what this is in the first place."

Emerald rolls her eyes and places her right hand onto her hip. "Did you hit your head on the way in? It's the rest of the energy we managed to muster."

"We plan to use it alongside the rest of the dust." Cinder speaks up, then looks at Emerald. "Did I say you can say anything about this?" Her words makes Emerald stand up straight and looks down at the tiled flooring. "Next time you open your mouth, it will only be when spoken to."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

"And Torchwick." Cinder returns her gaze to him, Torchwick shrugging with a smile hoping not to get scolded. "We are almost done with this part of the plan. So please, don't worry."

"Oh, I will be too busy to be worried, as I have been. That… MIGHT be why I have to ask questions all the time. So. How about this: At least tell me what you plan to do with the girl." Cinder doesn't like being ordered around, but he does have a point.

"Let her die." She responds. "I have no use for it and I don't feel like wasting my time or energy killing one of them again so feel free to do whatever you want." Cinder walks up to Torchwick and whispers in a calm but malicious tone, "It still has a woman's body." Torchwick shudders and gets a chill down his spine.

"I'd rather not." Turning back around towards the door her entered from, he walks back to it casually. "I'll be heading back to finish my 'transaction' so if you don't mind, let Daddy go to work."

Emerald gags on air, unamused and disgusted. "Ugh… Procreation…" Mercury unfolds his arms and taps on the screen in front of the dome, the door opening for Torchwick. Sttepping through, the door closes a moment later and a different tone sets in the room.

"How long does she have?" He asks Cinder as she moves a stray hair over her right ear.

"74 more hours. They die pretty fast when they aren't in the machine. Besides, I ran out of room for another corpse unless I just left it on the floor. We are also done here."

"Why did you need Torchwick here?"

"To make sure he is still doing his job and is as oblivious as he is supposed to be. In person is just a bit better."

Torchwick himself, still in the hallway and clearly hears this behind the closed door, growling to himself. "Tch…" he walks down the hall to the open elevator, passing the locked door on the way. _Oh, I will make sure to stay busy. But not before we make things a bit more interesting._ Torchwick, with a sly grin on his face, enters the elevator, the doors slowly sliding shut. Ascending, the hallway is silent once more.

Leaving the dark and empty hallway and the steel door, cracked open.

 **Within the Forever Fall forest…**

An Ursai major roars, Tai standing in front of it just watching it roar and looks at it up and down. Never really analyzing them before, it seems to look like an average Ursai but it has bone like protrusions coming from its forearms and back. A smaller Ursai runs passed the bigger one and Tai runs it through the middle with his sword and pulls it out, the corpse slowly deteriorating in front of him. The big Ursai slowly starts to back up, looking at Tai and its comrade's dead, fading remains, then turns its back to Tai and starts to walk away.

"Hm… Was that a tactical retreat? I thought they were mindless killers." Tai slides his sword back into the sheath, walking the opposite direction of the Grimm. Jumping up to the tops of the trees, he looks around and seeing the school, he starts to teleport from treetop to treetop, getting to the school grounds but not stopping there. He continued to teleport to the upper areas of the building, teleporting all the way to the roof above Ozpin's office. "At least I'm getting better with this semblance. It's way easier to manage that Witch Time."

Once above everything, he walks to the very edge of the roof, turns and then takes the stance of a sprinter, bending his knees and his head low to the ground. Taking a few deep breaths, he suddenly sprints, jumping off the very edge high into the air. Pulling out his sword, he twirls it in the air and then stands on it like a board. The sword ignites with flames under his feet and helps him glide across the sky, students looking up as well as folk from town able to see the shooting flame. He had other means to do this, but this is the safest at the moment. Riding his sword. In the sky.

Around a lot of people. "Hmm… this wasn't a good idea…"

Tai navigates toward the town, scanning the area around him while people look up at him with confused confusion or fear. He is trying to sense the woman he fought before, Cinder, just in case someone in the area had her aura around them. Her or Torchwick, either would do, but he preferred Cinder. Looking rather grim, he spots no such energy and turns around towards the ocean, heading to a landing dock that holds no vehicles and jumps off the sword, grabbing the hilt. As he slams into the ground, he sends the trailing flames out toward the ocean, making sure he didn't erupt when he landed. Sliding his sword into his sheath, he turns to see Coco with Velvet, Velvet taking a picture when he landed. Coco is the leader of CFVY, an upper classman, and chill classmate overall. She flicks her short brown hair free of any dust residue, a wavy lock on her face going from brown to orange bouncing over her shoulder and her brown eyes look at his red ones.

"Of course! The one time I decide to stand here, a man falls from the sky. Typical." She complains, looking at Tai carefully. "You got dust on my boots and my clothes. Give me a reason why I shouldn't hit you right now."

"Coco… You saw him fight…" Velvet whispers, taking a few steps towards Tai and smiles. "Hello again."

"So? I'd kill for stuff like this."

"Velvet, it's nice to see you." Tai looks at her and waves a hand once, placing it in his pocket. "I've seen you around, hope things are well for you."

"Mhmm…" She bows to him, holding a hand up to her face, looking at the ground. "That fight you had in school was really cool, and I was wondering…" Coco's eyebrow rises, Tai raising his own.

"What is it?"

"Uh, I was, I mean, if you want to…" She stuttered over her words, Tai trying to grasp what she's saying as she starts blushing clearly. "Err-"

"She wants to train with you. What do you say?" Coco interrupted, Velvet whipping her head around.

"Coco! That's not-" Her voice is cut by Coco's hand, muffling her words.

"We have a bit of a side thing that may involve some Grimm. Unfortunately, our other members are under the weather. We would get someone else, but we think you are capable."

"Don't worry Velvet, I'll help you out." Tai says, Velvet looking back at him and her eyes perk up.

"Really?" She smiles again and holds her camera tightly.

"Yeah, just let me know when you need me and I'll assist." _Hopefully this won't be soon, I need to keep searching._ "I am heading back to the academy now, so we could talk about this on the way." Coco reaches into her pocket and pulls out her scroll, giving it a quick look over and sighs.

"You guys do that, I've got places to be." With that, she turns away from them and walks away in the town's direction. Shrugging nonchalantly, Tai starts to walk with Velvet behind him staying close.

"Do you know what Coco is up to?" Tai asks, just trying to break her silence.

"No. Whatever it is, she usually is fast about it." Her tone of voice is light and smooth, almost soothing but with confidence. "Hopefully she gets back for dinner or incase the mission is anytime soon."

"I will guess Ozpin gave you this mission?"

"No. did."

"Can you really call it a mission then, or more like an assignment? It is Port."

"I don't know. But with you there, it should be over really fast." She looks up to him with a smile, Tai shaking his head.

"Nah, you can handle it without me. You are strong too, you know. I don't want to drag you down."

"Haha, I may be strong but I am just one person. Sometimes, it's better with more people. That's why teammates are important. And you're just a lone wolf, I can't see how you do it."

"You think so? That's a healthy way of thinking, it'll get you far." Seeing the academy grounds, students from earlier on are just now passing Tai and Velvet.

 _Is he with an upper classman?_

 _Why the Faunus girl?_

 _I bet he has a thing for those types._

Miscellaneous students murmur as they walk by, Tai not bothered but the comments did make Velvet's ears droop considerably. Even when Yang and Blake bump into them, Blake narrowed her eyes at Velvet and growled low, but for a different reason.

"Whoa, easy there tiger." Yang elbow bumps Blake causing her to stop. "Hey guys! What are you up to?"

Velvet waves at them both a bit nervously. "We were going to the school to grab some things. What about you guys?"

"Preparing for tomorrow." Yang responds. "We are going to the town to see all the decorations and other people who might be in the Vytal festival."

"Oh yeah." Tai rubs the back of his head. "I forgot about that. I should do something like that tomorrow too. I-" His sentence is cut short when a golden hue from beyond the foliage outside the school grounds catches his eyes. A familiar Aura shaped as a female silhouette. His tone becomes dark and more serious all of a sudden. "I'll be right back." Tai starts to walk passed them, Blake watch him just as he passes.

"Hey, wait a second." She reaches out to touch him, and just as she managed to, Tai vanished in a white light.

"Hmm…" Yang places her hands on her hips. "What was that about?"

"I don't know…" Velvet says, looking around.

"Sheesh, he just shows off his semblance wherever he goes. What do you think Blake?" Yang asks, not getting a response for a few seconds. "Blake?" Yang looks around, but she is gone too. "Where did she go…?" She thinks hard… then she realizes:

"She was gone when Tai was." Velvet answers.

Reappearing above the trees deep within the thicker area of the free roaming area, Tai is on a high branch while Blake is behind him, not on a branch. She looks down in confusion as this happened an in instant, sees she's standing on air, then immediately clings to Tai, wrapping her arms around his neck past his sword. Tai, not realizing Blake has tagged along, is thrown off balance to the sudden weight and tips backwards.

"What…Blake?! The fu-" Tai is cut off as he falls backwards, descending rapidly passing branches while trying to protect Blake at the same time. "Just hang on-"

"No, I'm going to let go!" Blake shouts at him sarcastically.

"I didn't ask you to teleport with me!" Tai continuously dodges branches while keeping them out of any harm.

"If you just waited then I wouldn't have!" Tai growls and slams his hand against the tree, digging into it quickly, halting them abruptly, Blake being flung off his back. Using his other hand to catch her arm before she was too far, she looks up at him frowning.

"Whatever." Tai sighs, looking down at her. "What did you want, exactly?"

"Can we get down first before you start asking me questions?" Blake asked, still worried while Tai was much less so.

"Ok." He then lets her go, Blake about to lose her mind on his decision but her feet touched the ground a second later.

"Never. Do that. Again." Blake folds her arms and shakes her head, Tai coming down after her.

"No promises."

"Am I interrupting you 2?" Cinder's voice cuts between them, only a few feet away from them with her hands on her hips along a black strap around her waist, a small silver cylinder shaped container strapped on her lower back. "I didn't know you were gonna bring a friend. And here I thought we could have some privacy."

"So you figured out I was coming? How would you know that?" Tai turns to her, Blake looking between the 2. Whoever she was, Tai did not seem to like her by the tone of his voice.

"I knew you would come find me. Let's call it a hunch." Her voice is calm and collected as it always is. "How've you been?"

"I don't think it's MY wellbeing you should be worried about." Tai grabs the hilt of his sword and pulls it out, pointing the large onyx blade at her.

"Well, that escalated quickly." Her eyes glance at the sword then him, his eyes glowing a silver color, ready to fight even in a school uniform. "Ever since our first time, you've grown quite a bit, haven't you? I can feel it. And those eyes, they are a sight to behold."

"I'm flattered. Now that you've saved me the trouble of finding you, I'll be taking the power you have." _And here I thought I'd have some trouble finding her, coming to me wasn't something I thought she'd do._

"Oh, you mean that crystal?" She puts up a single hand and makes a pinch between her index and thumb. "Small, glowing, and a heavenly gold?"

"What?" Tai lowers his weapon, glaring at Cinder. "…How…What did you do?"

"Simple: That power you want so bad I have removed from myself quite some time ago. During those past few years, I used that power source to empower myself in small moderations. But that power began to fade and it did not satisfy me, so I sought an even better source of power to wield. Now, using up almost every last morsel of its energy, I've been creating some things unique and independent. So that… No…" Cinder goes into the small container strapped behind her to grab the shard she surely carried, but decided against it. "So that shard is all yours" Clutching the handle hard, Tai's aura begins to shift around him.

"Do you understand what you are messing with? What did you make?" His voice starts to rise, the air becoming warmer. "You've no idea what you are getting yourself into…"

Blake is trying to follow, even as Tai is provoked. It seems she has what Tai came to Remnant to get but she isn't telling him where it is. Blake turns her attention to Cinder, "What are you trying to do?" Cinder frowns, unamused by her entirely.

"This is none of your business." Cinder's amber eyes glow and she lifts her right hand up toward Blake. "Be a good girl and keep your mouth shut." Tai grips his sword hilt with both hands and splits the sword apart.

"Keep your arm raised and you lose it." He warns her, Cinder looking back to him then Blake.

"You are lucky I don't feel like playing today." She lowers her arm slowly.

"Answer my question." Tai's weapon simmered showing heat waves coming from the blade and himself.

"Shh…" Cinder smiled as she shushes him and gets under his skin. "Good girls never tell." Having enough, Tai's weapons ignite with white and gold flames and he points one at her. "Go ahead and kill me. You don't know if I have that crystal on me or not, do you?" Frowning at her, Cinder takes that as her answer.

She is right. Her aura is that was purely gold was gone to him, inside and out along with her real aura from this world, so if she really drained the power from the soul piece, it would be too weak to see if it's on her person. He lets the flames simmer down but doesn't lower his weapon much.

"All this does is buy you time. If I remove your head, then I can see if it's on you." He lifts the sword tip and points it at her, a few yards away from her.

"Sorry but you're not getting head today unless you want to lose the only lead you have. You haven't even found Torchwick." Cinder points out, Tai glaring at her. She is incredibly calculative and is far smarter than he took her for. Not only did she figure out what he wanted but how to dangle it in front of him without him getting it. Blake started to back up, hatching a plan. If she could get far enough, she could get her team and they could subdue her. Surely that'll help.

"Tai… I have an idea. I could get everyone else and we can just keep her busy for you. I have no weapon so…"

"That's not going to work." Cinder says, hearing her whisper. "That's like ants trying to get between 2 Nevermores. You'll all get crushed at a whim." Blake sucks her teeth.

 _I will still try…_ Blake slowly back up, then with a fluid movement, turns away and runs back toward the academy.

"Then you are at a halt." Tai says to Cinder. "You can only get so much out of me and nothing is stopping me from following you. As soon as I get enough from you, you're a dead woman."

"Follow me if you want then." From the skies, a large silver airship comes down and hovers behind her, leaves and wind kicked up into a frenzy. "Tell you what: I'll meet with you tomorrow by the coffee shop across the Dawn and Dusk store. 10 o'clock. I'll give you all the information in public, you have my word." She jumps into the opening, the airship starting to lift and Tai's sword igniting with flames. He slashes at the air and sends a thin slice of flame at her the size of the ship itself but she holds out her hand and forms a barrier of fire which nullified the incoming flames, smiling as the ship takes off.

Looking down at the ground, he clutches his hilt so hard that he starts to bleed, becoming increasingly frustrated, a sudden black lightning current coursing around it. The flames on his sword alter, Grimm coming toward him from the shadows and trees in front of him, attracted to him. Rodin's words rang into his head louder than the growling Grimm in front of him.

 _The only time you're wasting is your own, and then when something happens that you will regret, it'll be no one's fault but your own._ Tai had no idea that Cinder not only managed to manipulate the soul but also use it to do something he wasn't even aware of. So many possibilities rose in his mind, but it all didn't matter. Thinking about it would not help. It was already too late. She could be making angels, demons, portals, who knows? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

The fur of the closest Grimm is set ablaze, as well as the grass around Tai's feet. "DAMN YOU CINDER!" Tai lashes his sword out in an angry slash, flames of black and purple hues mixed with red and oranges along with the wind forcefully engulf everything in front of him, incinerating trees, the ground and Grimm alike in a single swing. Breathing heavily, he holds his head with his left hand and shakes it, calming himself down. Looking up, his eyes are a bright red, returning to the dim crimson it is meant to be and he looks back down at what he'd done. In front of him, everything is completely swept away, every leaf and tree, nothing but a scorching scar etched in the ground for a hundred feet in a cone. Black flames covered the ground and as he relaxes, they simmer and fade away. Tai focused again and walks away from the site, his anger simmering to normal and his sword on his shoulder.

This was his fault, no one else. Not only that, but deep down he knew it was wrong to wait so long. It was pathetic. Cinder, on the other hand, is much happier after seeing his rage and curious flames. She has no intention at all to meet with him, her plan was to let the girl roam free and after seeing this black fire, more questions came to her mind.

"He has more power than I thought… We think he's an angel but they always have counterparts, he could be a little demon too. And if that's so…" Cinder opens up the small container and takes out the crystal, holding it up to her eyes. "We can use the rest of the power we have to cause even more chaos than I had hoped. That thing might even come in handy for us." The pilot, a white fang member, takes a hand off the steering handles and holds up a scroll beside him.

"Oh good, it's Emerald." Cinder sighs, grabbing the scroll and looks at it. "What is it?"

"She's gone." Emerald announces.

"Gone? Who's gone?" Cinder's eyebrows raise, sliding the shard gently into the container.

"The only surviving test human you made. When we left, I thought you did something to her, it, but since then, she's just not there."

"I think I misheard you." Cinder takes in a deep breath and closes her eyes. "You mean to tell me that the thing is GONE and you knew?!"

Emerald becomes defensive at the sudden raise of Cinder's voice. "I'm sorry! I did not want to question what you do so I just didn't say anything!"

"I will deal with you later…"

"But I...! Yes ma'am…" Cinder hangs up, her eyes glowing bright and causes the scroll to heat up until it melted away in her hands. Turning her attention to the pilot she commands: "Turn us around, now!" _How in hell would I miss that?! I will kill it as soon as I find it, it could ruin everything!_

The pilot turns the airship around, the sudden shift catching Tai's attention. He watches the ship fly over the tree line, not giving chase. If this world, Remnant, had the technology to tamper with angels, then he did not want her possibly destroying it which could easily happen, at least Tai believes.

"If she has it and made something of it, it is best to be covert about this." Turning his head away, he resumes walking back to his room from outside. "I have to make a plan… otherwise bringing my sister back won't mean a thing. Tch… Never had some crap like this go down… ever!"

While Tai began forming a plan, another is being formed elsewhere. Within the lower depths of a freight warehouse is a young woman wearing a jet black suit of skin tight leather with tears along the legs, torso and arms. Covering her upper body is a torn red bed sheet used as a makeshift shawl and is barely covering her smug and dirt covered face under her short red hair. Hiding between 2 open freight containers, her breathing is controlled and silent in the shadows while footsteps echo around her. She tried leaving through the elevator as Torchwick had done, but was a floor below it. On this floor is where the experiments began, white tables after white tables in 2 rows littered with empty test tube vials, needles and petri dishes alongside blue and black microscopes and small light bulbs on the sapphire floor tiles. The room itself is the same size as the warehouse above but the ceiling is 15 feet high. Along the walls are cabinets filled with medical bottles, but not nearly enough to fill any of them. The whole room itself seemed to have been cleaned out, no scientist or mad doctors, no blood or liquids available, the beds along the wall are small and white but stainless and stacked neatly in 2 bundles of 3.

The only souls around are the 2 white fang members holding black assault rifles that patrol the room, one with deer like antlers and the other with no seen features, to make sure things are in order, and her. The 2 white fang members walk side by side past the open freight containers and stop briefly, causing her to hold her breath. The white fang with deer like antlers looks at his comrade and shrugs.

"Why are we here again?" He asked, the other shrugging as well.

"I don't know. The writer put us here so we must be important right?"

"We have to be, Jim. Otherwise, we would just be fodder." Jim shudders, shaking his head.

"I don't want to be fodder man, I have a family!" Jim is becoming upset quickly at the thought of dying.

"Jims' usually have families. Hey, at least we have some read time, right? We could make exposition and try moving the plot along."

"I'm scared man. I want protagonist armor, they never die." Jim sighs, looking to the doorway at the end of the room on one end. "We should lock up and leave, everything is good to go."

The other guard points out "That's the door to the stairway that leads out of the building into the back. Why not the elevator on the other side to the ground floor?"

"Because I don't think we are supposed to use that, otherwise there would be nothing interesting there except the elevator music."

"I kind of like the music honestly… Look, can we talk like 2 generic henchman now that seems to know the plans even though we are ranked so low?"

"Sure. Hey, you hear about what goes on in here right?" Jim asks.

"The stuff…"

"Yes, the stuff. They were making a bunch of these Ember things. But I heard they failed, so they put them downstairs. I've never been down there but it's got to be a graveyard down there."

"Graveyards are for people and animals. I don't think they were making people."

"Yeah, right? I wonder what is down there but I don't want to go even if I were invited to."

While the 2 spoke, the young woman peeks her head out to the doorway. She does not understand everything they are talking about, but she is unable to move safely as long as they were standing there.

 _I remember this place… but I have a feeling, this isn't my first… time? I was called… Ember? Yes, I think. I have to get out… I don't want to be here._

…

 _Will that work…? …Ok._

"So, what now?" Jim asks his partner.

"I don't know, walk some more." As they walk away in unison, Ember balls up her hand into a fist and hits the side of the freight container, the echo lower than she thought. It does grab their attention and they back up once more. "What was that?"

"I don't know… let's walk all the way inside and look intensely into the dark corners just in case we don't see anything."

"Yeah." They both walk into the container, guns pointed at the end in the empty container and Ember sides out of the area between the containers and cautiously walks by, her bare feet making little sound compared to the shoes echoing from the container. Making it to the door, she pushes it open and looks up at the spiraling flights of cold, concrete stairs. She clearly has difficulty climbing them as she seemed battered and took her time walking up every stair. After some time, the stairs all looked the same and she lies against the wall, breathing heavily.

"I don't think I can… make it." She pauses, her head down as she slowly resumes to climb a step. "I am trying, really. What is 'outside'?" Pausing once more, she looks up the stairs and just up a few flights is the door leading out. "Ok." Ember seemed to be talking with someone but there is no one in the area with her. Even as she approaches the steel door, she nods to something. "The Ember name is good, yes?" Walking forward, she pressed against the cold steel and stopped. Trying again, she received the same result as it stays in place. There is a major problem, this door was different than the others, not only being heavier but also having a feature the others did not have.

This door has a knob. Ember huffs and examines the door closely, noticing the knob and reaches out and grabs it. Then tugs at it. It didn't budge at first, and no matter how hard she struggled, it wouldn't budge after. "I can't do it." She let's go of the knob and pauses for a brief moment then grabs it once more and turns the knob, the door unlatching and opening for her. "Oh. I got it." The back of the warehouse is very green with plant life and the moon that hangs over it all illuminated the scene. For Ember, this made her uncomfortable and she does not move from the doorway. _This is just like that room… only more…_ _Are you sure about… this?...ok._

Reluctantly, she steps out onto the cool, crisp grass oh so carefully, looking around cautiously. "Where is he? You said…wait? Wait until when?" The howl of a Grimm cuts through her voice and air, Ember looking around in fear now as she takes ginger steps into the wilderness she sees. "I am tired… they will find me out here…" Walking a few more feet, there are a bundle of bushes and shrubs besides trees that look hollowed out of branches. Slipping between the bushes, there is enough space for her to curl up and lay on the without being pricked by anything. "Are you sure?" Ember closes her eyes, and inhales deep. "Ok…"

 **Same night, Beacon Academy…**

Tai sits in his room on the floor, looking out the window at the moon. He thinks of what Cinder says over and over, wondering why. Why she approached him in the first place, why she knew about the angelic soul she had been using, so many questions he could not answer. Something was up, but he would have to wait till the next morning to search for her again. A knock at his door pulls him from his thoughts, Tai looking back to it.

"It's open." Shortly after, Blake enters the room and closes the door behind her, with a concerned look on her face. "What's the matter?"

"Well, the team heard a loud explosion come from the forest, in fact a lot of the students did. When we got to the spot were rising smoke came from, there was a large scar in the ground and everything was burned in a sort of cone. Everyone was wondering what happened but I know that we met there earlier, if you can say that."

"That was me, as you know. However, there was no fight. Just a really annoying conversation…" Tai clenches his fist and sighs. "I didn't mean for it to happen though."

"I thought that it was you at first too, but I remember that your fire doesn't burn the forest area. But this time, there seemed to be burning so, what changed?"

"Well… it's because of the negative energy I told you about before." Blake sits on his bed next to him and folds her legs, looking down at him.

"Ok, then tell me what exactly these energies are. No 'lame mans' terms would be nice." Blake folds her arms, Tai looking back out to the moon.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. I have access to both angelic power and demonic powers. I use the angelic power primarily since it is easier to manage. The fire is gold and white in color and my abilities are the same, coming with a good and bad bonus. It's not as strong as my demonic power, but there is more of it and I can control it better. In addition, my fire is unique." Holding out his hand, he concentrates and forms a small ball of fire that looks tame with a gold swirl in it every now and again. "It will not burn anyone or anything that is not my enemy." He holds it out to her and looks at her. "Go ahead." Blake looks down at the fire, feeling heat emitting from it but not too much. Creeping her hand towards it she tries to grab it but her hands whiff through it, her hand unburned. Surprised, she places her whole hand into it, feeling the comforting warmth.

"That's…something…" She says, taken aback by it and backs her hand up, examining it carefully free of burns.

"However, the demonic power is a different story. It isn't evil or bad, if you will. It's far stronger than my normal abilities and runs out a lot faster, but it comes with bonuses too."

"Of course it does. It's like every manga and book with a dark and light." Blake sits back on her hands and folds her right leg over her left.

Tai nods. "Sad but true, somewhat. They both are strong but I prefer using the demonic stuff in a must situation, since I don't know how it will affect the world I am in. The fire made from it cannot be put out and will burn anything regardless of what it is. In addition, it's black, red and purple in color and far more dense and heavy. The drawback, other than the limited time, is that I will use it IF I stop giving a damn. It's hard for me to get to that point but it is bound to happen, I'm basically human after all. I'm sorry if it's a lot to take in, but that's the story of my abilities." He lies back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"I understand, but…" Blake starts, looking down. "What happens…"

"To me? I'm still me, just a bit, out of it. Hey, if worse comes to worse, you can just calm me down, right? I couldn't hurt that face of yours."

"What? Why me?" Blake rises an eyebrow, Tai chuckling a bit.

"Who else? I mean, Weiss could do it I'm sure." Blake frowns, crossing her arms even though she knows he's joking. "Hm… It is a frightening power. I just hope you don't have to see it anytime soon." He says quietly, Blake still hearing it.

"I heard that."

"I forgot you had cat ears…"

"Gr…" Her growling made him snicker, at least bringing him some happiness before it goes to hell tomorrow. But hopefully, it'll just be smooth and he can contain himself.

 **The next morning in Vale…**

The kingdom is bustling with folk and students, a large 'Welcome to Vale' sign draped across a street facing the docks. Ruby and her team walk near the docks, Yang nudging Blake quietly.

"I thought you were supposed to be with Tai this morning. What happened?" She whispers.

"He told me something is up so he would meet up later." She whispers back.

"He's been acting weird lately, even for him. Well if you couldn't cheer him up, something must be wrong." Looking out to some freight ships, Blake stops walking.

"Why me…?"

Above the citizens on the rooftops is Tai, looking out over the kingdom focused on finding the aura. Sure enough, it was there walking among the other citizens and headed his way. Tai left his Infernal Cerberus behind, unable to carry it around so he doesn't cause any unnecessary attention. Moving from roof to roof, he jumps for some time, seeing a tanned Faunus jump onto the roof he is at. He is a blonde with a simple button up that's not buttoned and blue jeans and a blonde monkey tail with sneakers on.

"Sup?" He say, huffing a bit.

"What?" Tai looks down to see policemen running down the street, guessing they were after him. "In a bit of trouble?"

"You can say that." He stands up completely with a cocky grin on his face. "Gave them the slip though. So, come here often?" Tai looks forward, tracking Cinder's aura.

"No." He jumps across the street and walks away, the Faunus looking at him with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Name's Son!" He calls out, Tai seeing Cinder's aura stop and sit down a few blocks away.

"Sure." He teleports away, closing the gap quickly from rooftop to rooftop until he is above a café, jumping down to see Cinder sitting at the table closest to him with a cup of hot coffee in front of her along with a vanilla folder and the menu from the café.

"I know you get around but that's new to me. That's your semblance, huh?" Cinder gingerly lifts the cup and takes a sip of coffee.

"Tell me what you know, now." Tai demands, not bothered by her demeanor. Cinder is also unmoved by him, not feeling the least bit worried. She holds up the folder to him, waiting for him to take it.

"I don't have to say anything, you just have to read this and you get your answers." Tai looks at the folder, then at her, snatching it away from her. "You are so rude."

"And you're a real bitch." Tai opens the folder, which has is empty but a hologram appears of a small warehouse.

"Touché."

"What is this?"

"It's the warehouse where we did everything there is to know about that shard. Oh, and that is also there. Feel free to kill me now, since you know everything." Cinder leans forward and slides a finger across her own neck. "You have no reason not to, right? This world shouldn't mean anything to you for repercussions, right?" Tai stays silent, ignoring her.

 _I will kill you, but this is too spoon fed to me. This warehouse might not even be real or hold anything valuable, so if I kill her, I would be lost on everything and have to depend on Torchwick. Even then, would he know more than her, the person who had this power? No. I'll check on this, then if I do get what I need, come back for her._ Tai closes the folder and walks away from her. _I have this feeling she is no more than a puppet like Torchwick is for her._

"As much as I would love to, I won't harm you here. I would like to make you suffer first before that." Cinder frowns for a brief second then smiles. He's up to something, but she doesn't know what.

"I look forward to it." She says, taking another sip. Tai teleports away, Cinder's cup of coffee boiling in her hands. "I wanted to see that power from yesterday… It could push our plans so much faster… I hate failure." She is hissing to herself while Tai moves streets away from her. Back in the middle of town, Tai jumps from a rooftop and puts his hands in his pockets, the folder inside his pocket. As much as he wanted to kill her, she made it too obvious that she wanted him to. He would not play her games and he would not do what she wanted. He'd rather wait find out more than just off her because she wants him to.

Walking around a corner, he is so deep in his thoughts, a young woman bumps into him and falls over, Tai taken from his thoughts to look down at the girl. She has short, rather curly orange hair that came down to her chin, and she wore a pink bow on the back of her head. She also had bright green eyes, light skin and freckles. She's wearing an old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. She lies on the ground looking up to him, smiling warmly.

"Sal~u~tations~!" She greets with glee, waving up to him.

"Hello." Tai waves a single hand, noticing she still lies on the ground. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking a stroll! Exploring the city and its inhabitants." She explains. "Oh, and my name is Penny."

"Right. You sure you want to explore while lying down?" Tai points to her, Penny squinting then shaking her head.

"No, no I don't!" She flips up to a stand, Tai watching her carefully.

"I am Tai, by the way."

"I'm Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny says with a smile.

"You already told me your name." He points out, Penny putting a finger to her chin.

"So I did, again!" Her aura is entirely too happy to him, but also friendly and warm. It was almost blissfully cute.

"Right…so what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." She declares, Tai looking at her up and down.

"You? Are you sure you'd be up for it?"

"Uh huh." She salutes to him. "I'm combat…" She then swings her hand toward him in a smooth motion. "…ready!"

"Combat ready… right. Well, hope to see you there amongst friends." He waves as he walks away from her, Penny looking at the ground then her eyes become wide. As he turns a corner, he halts as Penny is within inches in front of him.

"You said 'amongst friends'! Like I was one within them all. Am I really gonna be your friend…?" She gets close to his face, Tai not moving away. She was close enough to kiss him, in fact.

"Sure." He shrugs, not seeing the harm. "Why not?" Penny clutches her fists and closes her eyes as if she's about to explode, then bursts out with laughter.

"SEN-SATIONAL!" She grips Tai in a tight, sudden hug with surprising power, Tai not prepared for this. "We can go on dates and see what we have in common and find out if clothes make my butt look big!" She places him down, looking at him with happiness.

"Mhmm…" Tai brushes off his shoulders, noting her extreme emotion and grip.

"Now I have Ruby as a friend and Tai and we are all fighting in the tournament!"

"You met with Ruby too?"

"Yup! But then Weiss and the Faunus girl got into an argument so I had to walk somewhere else because Ruby told me to meet her somewhere."

"I see." _I better stay out of that. It's none of my concern… In the meantime, I should do something about that facility_. "You should hurry along, before Ruby gets worried about her new friend."

Penny's eyes become wide and she nods vigorously. "You are right! I will not let her down." She confidently turns and starts walking down the street, Tai backing away then teleporting back onto the rooftops.

"Well that was… something." He sighed, turning around and nearly jumping when Penny is behind him again. "Don't do that."

"I forgot to ask: where is the Beacon Academy entrance?" She asks, un-phased. He sighs, deciding to help her otherwise she would probably follow him around.

At the same time, Ember makes her way towards the busy city, however she becomes lost once more very easily. "I am confused… Where am I?" She looks around and sighs, walking up to a huge building. Which turns out to be the warehouse she came from. "It's this place…again?! I thought you said you knew where to go? …Why not? This is going to take all day… and those things are still around." She wanders away from the building, going in the opposite direction just to make sure she isn't coming back. Time itself flies, the moon in the air once again and within that darkness is Ember.

Still very lost. Tai had also searched for the place, but had no luck. Cinder wound up screwing him over and showed him what it looks like and how to get inside, even though he has his own way, but not where it was exactly. But it was in Vale, which does have plenty of warehouses. He will continue the next day, in hope of finding something.

 _This is grade A crap right now, I should have gotten more out of her. But I still have to be ginger about this until I find that shard._ Sighing in disappointment, he sighs and retires to sleep. The next day started out the same, although Yang and Weiss added a little bit of stuff on his search.

"Have you seen Blake?" Yang asks him, Tai raising an eyebrow. "I guess not…" Weiss puts a finger to her chin and examines him in suspicion.

"You know harboring a criminal will get you in jail, right?" Weiss hisses, Yang rolling her eyes.

"A criminal? What did she do?" Tai asks.

Yang replies "Nothing. She's gone missing though and we just started to look for her. If you find her, can you let us know?"

"Sure." Tai watches as they walk past him, Soon after, someone else walks by him, with tears in her clothes and a makeshift shawl. Tai moved out of her way as well, she looked out of it too. Ember is in fact low on energy and motivation. The voice she hears was silent ever since this morning, while Ember herself was becoming weaker and weaker as time moved. She doesn't know why she was so tired, she just wants to sleep but if she did, she doesn't know if she would wake up safely. Even as she passes Tai, her gaze is elsewhere, and she just kept walking.

"Where… did she go…?" She whispers, Tai confused for a moment.

 _She's probably looking for Blake too, but I've never seen her before… Must be someone close if she looks THAT beat up and is still looking for her._ Shaking his head, he jumps onto the top of the building he's closes to and resumes his thoughts for search. _If I had to think… where would I place a warehouse like this? Not available to the public, somewhere it is accessible but not too far out of reach, just like when she rose away in that ship… Hmm…_ Tai vanishes again, Ember continuing to walk slowly behind to the 2 who are searching for Blake.

"Who is that girl?" Yang whispers to Weiss. Weiss shrugs, confused at the question.

"What girl? At least I remember Blake's name, even if she is a criminal."

"No! The one behind us." Yang points her thumb over her shoulder to Ember, Weiss looking back. "She's been following us for a while now."

"I don't know and I don't care." Weiss stops walking and turns around, pointing at Ember. "Hey, you! What are you-" Ember continued to walk, passing her without hesitation like she wasn't there. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Wait a sec Weiss. I think she's hurt. We can put off the search for a few minutes to help her." Yang walks up to her and grabs Ember's cold shoulder, causing her to stop. "Oh wow, she's cold… She looks like a walking corpse, look at her skin."

"Look, that must suck and all but we still have a CRIMINAL out there. Who, mind you, ran away from US. I just want to find her." Weiss keeps walking, Yang looking as she gets ahead and then to Ember beside her.

"I'm sorry, I hope everything is ok."

"Tai isn't here…" Yang looks at her closely, walking away just a bit to keep Weiss in sight.

"He was here just a minute ago, he went that way." She points behind her, which is where the port is which the dust that night would come in. Yang cups her mouth as she walks away to shout "You'll find him." Turning the corner, out of sight, Ember still stands still, trying to register what was said. After it hit her, life comes back to her, Ember looking around quickly.

"She said he's here…! Who… who said that?" Ember looks around and sees no one, then looks in the direction of the port and hills the cover it. "That way… Ok." A few hours later, just as the sun set, Tai is standing before a large warehouse in the middle of the emerald forest. This one was not like the last, as it was in great shape and there is plenty of space for ships to come in and out. With folded arms, he stares at the place and closes his eyes.

"There is definitely something here…" Tai holds out his right hand to the building's face. ""Let's see what I am going to kill you for, Cinder." A small ball of gold flames forms in front of his palm and it blows up into a stream of flames that punches through the wall and creates smoke and debris from the contact explosion. Once the dust settles, a large hole is in the wall and Tai lowers his hand, heading inside.

Once he stepped over the debris, he took a quick look around and saw… nothing. The warehouse seemed empty save for a single blue freight container that sits in the center of the dim lit room. It holds no contents and the only remains of any clue is something that sparkles softly, drawing Tai towards it. Walking to the edge of the container, Tai kneels down to see a small pile of whatever it is, as it is dark. He opts to reach and grab it but it turns out to be a powder or dust.

 _Hm… Gold dust…_ Tai holds up his fingers to the dim lights above and analyzes the dust. It is cold and grimy as if poorly maintained and left for quite some time. Looking around once more, Tai spots the elevator in the wall and walks towards it with suspicion and care. _This is new in a warehouse… I still don't trust this._ Coming face to face with the elevator doors, he looks down to his left to see a single circular button for it and presses it. No sounds, gears, anything at all come from the doors before him. He tries again with no response and then a third until he presses repeatedly due to impatience. After a few seconds of silence, Tai shrugs and takes in a deep breath.

"Screw it." Tai uses both of his hands and fingers his way between the shut doors begins to pry them apart. Grunting quietly, the doors slowly inch apart slowly until he flings them apart, seeing the elevator itself on the same level as he is. Taking his hands slowly away from the doors which are now broken apart he steps inside and looks down at the tiled floor thinking of his next move. "Seeing how this piece of crap doesn't work…The easiest thing to do now is to go down myself." Pulling his black blade from its sheath, he angles the blade at the floor and jabs it, making a small incision. Guiding it in a small circle, it shaves through a thin layer as if the floor is clay with a screeching metal on metal screech, completing the cut after a few seconds. Tai kneels down and places his palm on the center of the circle, pushing on it which causes it to start cracking. _There is more down there like the plate helping to hold it up, but if I can budge this just a bit…_ The cracks spread out to the edges quickly, giving in to Tai's strength until he eases off.

 _That's enough._ Tai raises his palm and balls it into a fist, punching the very center with enough force to shake the elevator and break the floor to have a not so neat circular opening, wires and steel now protruding from the bottom revealing a black pit below. Jumping into the hole, Tai freefalls, accelerating faster and faster as it becomes darker and darker. Pulling out the sword once more, he jams the blade into the wall, using it to anchor himself to place a foot below the sparking sword to help slow down until he finally comes to a steady halt. The hot sparks helped to reveal the door just a few feet above him, Tai looking up to it and climbs up carefully, leaving the sword as a foothold just in case. Igniting a flame in his left palm, he blasts through the door as to not waste any time.

However, the sudden blast shook the entire shaft and the elevator far above begins to rumble. Grabbing onto the floor and pulling himself up, Tai dusts himself off and stands up straight, brushing off his hair and looks around once more. "It's just a hallway. Usually they lead to a few places, or can be a maze. I have plenty of time to look around so I should check all my corners." Tai becomes uneasy, as if a chill crept up his spine and he turns around, but nothing is there. Igniting a flame once more, it is simply a light in the powerless hallway and immediately spots a steel door on his right. From this room came a familiar feeling, a soft yet cool faint glow seeping in the air. Grabbing the brass knob and opening it quickly, he walks in to see… No one. A room empty of anyone but himself along with a single old white mattress in the far right corner and very small dried blood stains scattered across the floor.

To the naked eye, it is a flame lit room with nothing special in it. To Tai, there is a heavenly gold glow coming from the bed and the bloodstains, not very bright but evidence of the power similar to his. "This must be where Cinder slept… but it wouldn't make sense. This looks like a prisoner's room and clearly Cinder is no prisoner, so what was here? She said she's done experiments and if she removed the shard from herself… it could be possible to place it in someone else." Tai clenches his fist at the thought but continued to keep an open mind. "As stupid as that would be, Man are very curious, so to a scientist they would go that far. They have the means, I am sure. But why couldn't I sense this? It's too obvious and it's close by! I am missing something." As he thinks, the flame in his hand dwindles, Tai using more energy just to keep it lit. Thinking nothing of it, he leaves the room and walks down the hallway again.

While Tai finds his answers there, Torchwick is busy stealing the dust shipment that just arrived in Vale that very same night. Within the airship that contains him and quite a few White Fang members, he smirks at his open scroll which has a camera view of Tai within the hallway.

"As long as this kid is over there, he can't interfere with this. I can't wait to see the look on his face when-" He's cut short by another screen popping up over the surveillance screen containing Cinder's face. "Damn it, I was just about to enjoy that!"

"Don't worry, you can look after you're done there. You remember the plan?" She ask with a calm expression.

"Yeah, get the dust and get out." Torchwick peers out the window as they approach the port. "I've got this."

"Get whatever you can and get out. Remember that we need that dust there then go back to that warehouse, collect the data he's feeding us, and liquidate the place. Then we have to find that thing and kill it."

"Alright, alright. Let's get this out the way first then." Torchwick closes the scroll and the airship comes to a halt, opening its door to always the members out, armed with grey assault rifles. One among them commands:

"Grab the tow cables." 2 White fang members move underneath the plane while 4 sit at the bottom of the ramp waiting for the preparations.

"Hey! What's the hold up?!" Torchwick's shout makes them look in his direction aat the top of the ramp. "We're not the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, SO why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?" This bothers one of two spectators that have been on a stakeout for some time now, being Blake lying beside Sun.

"This isn't right." Blake's eyes narrow to Torchwick. "The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Getting to her feet, she pulls her Gambol Shroud from its sheath and jumps down despite Sun trying to stop her.

Ember, who is worn out and sitting against a crate nearby, also spots Torchwick and tries to scoot away as fast as she could. A white Fang sees her hand at the edge of the container as she moves out of sight and looks back to another White Fang, tilting his head toward the container and raises his gun, the two walking towards her. "Who's there?"

Meanwhile, Tai comes face to face with another door without a knob. Not giving the door the slightest chance, he kicks the door down to see a room that still holds power. It's the blue tiled room that has a large dome sitting on a metal pedestal in the middle of the room and coffin shaped containers. Before the dome is a screen, and on that screen is a small, gold, crystal in the shape of 2 triangular pyramids merged at their base. The fire in Tai's hand peters out, not from lack of strength, but out of shock. He did not know what to do.

 _That… that's it. That's exactly what it looks like when I take them out!_ Tai runs to the shard and snatches it up, the cold crystal staring back at him as he examines it. _I don't feel anything! It's completely drained of her soul! HOW?!_ Unfortunately for him, there are traces of it inside the room, very faint glimpses like wisps within each of the pods inside this room. Hesitant, Tai walks slowly to the oversized pod and sees a small glass window that allows him to see inside. When he approaches, it is too dusty for him to see in so he wipes away the dust to reveal a face. Soft plain white features and short red hair, her eyes are closed her body, even though he couldn't see it, is lifeless. This is what they had created, this is what they did with a power they did not understand, and as Tai quickly checked the other 19 coffins, they all held the same body within them.

"No…" Tai backs away and stares in disbelief, clutching the crystal in his hand, his voice as shaken as he is. "This is impossible. I would have sensed this, I would have known." Tai tries to sense the world outside to see if he could find anyone but he couldn't. He isn't able to detect anything outside the building, and the wisps in the room are something he couldn't see until now and the effort caused his head to feel a sharp pain. "They blocked anything that could detect this. I can't see Aura or anything out there… and this pain. I felt this before… yes." Tai calms himself and pieces together what he knows. "I fought Junior… That night something hit me, called out to me, but I could not respond or find it. It must have been this. As much as I want to believe this is not real or these are just fake wisps of her soul, I have one way to tell if I really failed again or not."

Holding out this crystal, he aims it toward the corpses within the coffins. If they are her soul, they will extract themselves from the bodies and join the crystal in his palm. Normally, the female would be in pain as the soul is ripped from her very heart, it would not kill her nor cause any damage long term, only fall unconscious if the pain was too much. Sure enough, the wisps pull out from the bodies and phase through the coffins, each wisp attracted to the crystal and as each wisp joined its home, the crystal itself gained some life to it, but not much at all. It would be a shining light that even the sun would be jealous of, but this is a dim light. "I see. So I did fail this one, huh? So much of her soul was used… they created lives with someone else's and I could have stopped this. Even if I couldn't I would have gotten here sooner and things might be different…" Tai looks back to corpses and even though the souls have been returned, they still held a sense of familiarity. Tai looks at her closely and as he did, his blood began to boil.

"I have seen her before." Tai drops down to a knee, staring at the tiled floor. He has seen this girl before, the very same morning in fact. "She was the one I passed after I saw Yang and Weiss… The one I thought looked like a corpse!" Tai punches the floor, sending cracks to course through a wide area of the floor. He grits his teeth together, heat waves rising around him. "She must have been dying then, but even then I should have been able to tell and I failed to notice anything of her… Even with the hole in the building I cannot see anything out there now."

All of this is my fault anyway, but that doesn't mean I can't fix this now. The air around him twists and warps space around him, the panels and electronics in the room sparking from it. _I knew I should have done more._ His anger grew as flames manifest from his body, changing colors from gold to black time and time again. "I should have incinerated that bitch when I had the chance!"

Black flames erupted from the tile around him in a circle, burning into the ceiling until a massive red hole appears above him. The hole itself is a giant blood red portal that leads to Hell itself but he isn't going in it. Instead, an ooze drips around Tai and from the portal, a giant white beak penetrates it, sliding out as the black feathered bird makes its way towards Tai. It's skin is jet black as any Nevermore or Grimm, red cracks are scattered along its body and wings, the underside of the wings a dark red and it's feather tips all singed. Crashing down talons first, it opens its beak and from it's fiery course, hellish lungs, it screeches with the sounds of a roaring lion, screeching bird, and a pained man. The sound shakes the entire building, the portal above closing slowly as Tai stands with the former Grimm behind him. It's no longer just a Nevermore, it is The Great Devourer. Tai, whose clothes are now set ablaze in black, jumps onto the demon's back as the structure can no longer contain this amount of immense pressure and the room begins to collapse.

From a bird's eye view outside, the trees rumble in unison as the ground trembles and the top of the warehouse itself bursts open as Tai and his demon erupt from within, the creature howling once more. On the port where Torchwick now runs to board his plane, he grabs the edge of the steel door and sneers "These kids just keep getting weirder!" The plane takes off and Penny, who just fought, starts to run after it but stops as it flew away. The loud screech makes her head turn, as well as Ruby's and Sun's, Torchwick looking in the direction it came from. He could not see what it was, but whatever it was is very fast with wings. Looking for a way out he did look down to see Blake and Ember around the same area.

"Whoa, wait a second!" Torchwick shouts to the pilot. "Bring us back down just enough for me to finish some business." _Now that that girl is here, I can't let her spill anything on us to those freaky kids! And if that's who I think it is, I need an ace._ The air ship comes close enough to the ground for Torchwick to jump out and land not so gracefully in front of Ember, who is still sitting against the container. "Why hello there."

Blake peeks around the corner, looking at them and holds her sword ready to fight once more. "I'm sorry, but there's been a change of plans." Torchwick thrusts his cane towards her. "I can't let you live anymore." The sounds of towns people screaming begins to erupt, Blake looking away back to Vale as well as Torchwick spotting Blake but looks the same way. From over the line of warehouses, The Great Devourer glides over the scene, heats and whips up the air just by passing by, and flies overhead.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Torchwick shouts in anger. Standing on the neck of the Great Devourer is Tai, whose bright red eyes make contact with his as they pass. Tai looks away toward the small fleet of ships and rides toward them. "When could he ride a fiery Nevermore?! When were they on fire!?"

"Tai?" Blake spots him as he flies away. The Great Devourer flies above them, Tai gripping it's feathers as it flies straight up. Ember looks up as well, breathing heavily and smiles.

"Finally…"

Tai growls, his anger rising just from seeing Torchwick. "I refuse to let him get away from me this time. I'll get what I need to know. Now…"

He gives the Great Devourer one command: "Rain Hell on them." The demon screeches and flaps it's wings to stop it's ascension. Tai jumps off of its neck as it spreads it's glorious wings and the feathers glow an ominous red and black. Flapping hard once, a shower of burning feathers rain and every remaining ship Torchwick has is engulfed within it. The feathers tear through the metal hulls, wings, and cockpits of every plane. They explode one after another, Ruby, Penny, and Sun only able to look on as they all fell and Tai himself crashes down a stack of freight containers above Torchwick, Blake and Ember. The Great Devourer hovers back to Tai and glides in a giant circle. "Go." The demon immediately makes its way toward the waters in which the wreckage, bodies, and survivors fell and swooped them up in its beak one at a time, devouring everything that it's bright red eyes could see.

Torchwick laughs nervously, backing away slowly and then makes a break for it. As soon as he turned away, Tai is standing directly in front of him, taking Torchwick by surprise and before he could react, Tai kicks Torchwick's chest hard enough to send him flying back into the freight he started from and smack into the ground. "Gah… that's gonna hurt in the morning." He stands to his feet and dust himself off. "This stuff ain't cheap kid."

"Tell me what you know, or die." Tai walks towards him, Torchwick shrugging with little concern.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Torchwick responds, Tai teleporting and punches him square in the face, sending him sideways to the ground. Tai stands over Ember, Torchwick picking himself up and wipes off the dirt on his face. "I may have an idea of what you are talking about."

"Explain." Tai's eyes narrow, The Great Devourer landing opposite of Tai behind Torchwick leaving no way out.

"Ok, ok. But I don't think I have to say much, do I?" Torchwick puts his hand behind is back and paces back and forth. "Your little stunt here says you already know everything. We used that crystal to do whatever we wanted, end of story."

"As I thought. So who calls the shots?" Tai looks back to Ember who is still alive but her Aura is nonexistent and the soul in her is nearly gone. "Cinder is not smart enough to do this, so who is?"

"I am, of course!" Torchwick smiles at his own wits and points his cane at Tai. "You don't have to believe me, but you do have to think fast!" Torchwick fires a shot at Tai's legs, aiming for Ember. Tai catches the projectile as quick as it came, holds it away from her, and crushes it to blow it up. It does create a plume of smoke and during this, Torchwick capitalizes and seizes Blake. When the dust settles, Torchwick is near the same spot only closer with the water to his back and Blake's neck in his arms. Ruby and co. quickly come running, looking ready to fight again but they are worn out from previous encounters.

"I wouldn't make any moves if I were you." Torchwick has his cane shoved into Blake's face.

"Let me go!" Blake growls at him, Torchwick looking at her and rolls his eyes.

"Ok, sure." Torchwick concedes, Blake taken back from it.

"Really?"

"NO!" Torchwick tightens his grip and points his cane at The Great Devourer. "Now call off the bird brain or the cat bites more than her tongue." They all look at Tai who does not waver and begins thinking of his options.

 _I could just try taking his head off, but that wouldn't stop her from being shot. And I still need more information, he clearly knows something. And bringing in my Devourer is taking up more power than I would like. I'll think of something…_ Tai recalls his demon simply by swaying his hand, The Great Devourer screeching loudly and ascends to the sky with heavy flaps of its wings. The ends of its tail feathers begin to fade into dust, swirling up its body until nothing of it remained. Tai's eyes lose their glowing hue and he starts to put his hand down. Not noticing until now, the remaining White fang surround them, guns pointing at all of them and remains ready.

"And that's what we call checkmate." Torchwick smirks, twitching his head to the side so the White fang being forming 2 rows of 10. "Meet my little firing squad, just for you. Animals killing animals, what better way to go, right?" Ruby and Sun could not make any sudden movements, while Penny and Kei are still worn down to move fast enough for this.

Ember's soft and low voice cuts into the stalemate "Burn them…" She tells Tai.

 _Burn them? Why would I…_ Then it hits him, and Tai grows a smile on his face. "That's right." Tai holds out his right hand towards them, particles of white and gold building a small ball of fire swirling into the center of his palm. The White Fang lower their guns, Torchwick chuckling evilly.

"That's a nice bluff, but you won't do it." Tai ignores him, the ball of heat growing from a baseball size to a basketball size, the rubble, rocks, and wind rising around him as he has his gaze fixed on Torchwick.

Ruby shouts at him desperately "What are you doing?!"

"You're going to hit Blake!" Sun shouts at him. Gold bolts of electricity blink around his arm and the ball of flames, wind being forced back from him as their pleas are ignored.

"Aren't we all friends?" Penny asks.

"Y-you wouldn't dare. I have her!" Torchwick shouts, but the look in his eyes makes Blake lower her arms and close her eyes. "She's gotta mean something right?!" Tai slowly pulls his hand back just a few inches and keeps his gaze focused.

"Goodbye, Torchwick." Tai lunges his arm forward, a giant stream golden white flames shot directly at them.

"Oh shit!" Torchwick cries as the flames expand on impact with the first row of fang and engulf them all. The stream continued to push across the river and clouds of smoke engulf the group. The stream only lasts for a few seconds then cuts off. The ground is eroded in front of him and a pile of smoldering bodies lie before him, some drifting in the water. Everyone is in disbelief, shock, and horror.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sun jumps at Tai and grabs his collar.

"What's wrong with you?" Tai pushes him in the chest, shoving him away to the ground.

"Y-you…" Ruby whimpers, tears growing in her eyes. "Blake is… gone now."

Penny stares at the piles then shakes her head. "The Faunus girl is fine, Ruby."

"What?" Rumbling from under the bodies, they are pushed apart and Blake stands up, dusting herself off.

"That was something, I guess." Blake looks up after she cleans herself off and raises an eyebrow to Tai. "How many times am I going to have to say 'Don't do that again'?"

"As many times as it takes to help you out." Tai pushes his hands in his pockets, Blake walking to them.

"You're alive!" Ruby glomps Blake, squeezing her tight with superhuman strength. She quickly lets go, sharp pains preventing her from doing much from her shot earlier on.

"Ok! Ok!" Blake cries, unable to escape the grasp.

"How did you do that?! Tai was like, 'BANG', then [explosion noises], and you are all fine!"

"That would be a bit to explain." Blake is finally turns to Tai. "It's nice to know I can trust you with even my life."

"It's not a problem. I'll be watching your back."

"Then I have nothing to worry about." Blake gives him a hug, then quickly lets go to rejoin her other friends.

"Wait." Sun looks around. "Where's that guy at?" Amongst all the bodies, Torchwick was no there.

"He got away." Penny smiles. "He used the stream of fire to get across the river. It was quite genius." Ruby chuckles quietly.

"Maaaaybe you should tell use a bit sooner next time…"

Tai zones them out, kneeling down to Ember who seems more lively than when they first met.

"How did you know about my fire?" He asks, Ember looking back at him.

"She told me… about them…" Her voice is still choppy, and she holds out her left hand like a cup. "She said the… the fire will h-help me get better?"

"My fire?" Tai didn't have too much left after that, but he managed to create a very small ball of golden white flames, holding it up to her palm. The fire bends towards her as if being drawn to her hand and begins changing into a orange like vapor and absorbs into her skin, returning just a hint of color to her and she takes a deep breath. "What… who are you?"

With brighter amber eyes, she smiles at him. "My name is Ember, and we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Off on the hill far away from them is Ozpin, standing watch over his students. He closes his eyes and smiles in satisfaction. _These students are something truly special… They have exceeded any and all of my expectations… What will you do now, Salem?_

That same night, Tai is standing outside the school, Blake alongside him, and the moon hangs overhead bright and calm.

"So, what will you do now?" Blake asks him.

"I have to take care of Ember, I don't know anything about her or what has happened so I am just going to have to learn this."

"Ok… Hey, where is your sword?"

Back at the warehouse where the roof was ripped open, White Fang are inside gathering remains and anything they can salvage. Nearby, a person wearing a familiar burning black cloak walks toward the building. The stature is smaller and the hood is down, showing long jet black hair in a ponytail and 2 black canine ears. Her soft white complexion shows off her sharp pointed eyes and feral red iris eyes, a bang covering some of her left eye.

A patrolling White fang guarding the hole Tai blew through spots her and holds up his hand. "Who are you?"

"It's back somewhere in the forest… I've unfinished business but my partner can handle it." Tai says, Blake raising an eyebrow.

"Partner? Uh… Are we talking about the sword or a person? And I thought you were alone, not on a team."

"I'm not on a team. But they are kind of the… perfect."

"Isn't that a little bit of an over exaggeration?"

"No. I wish it were, and tonight, certain people will too." Blake is confused but she shrugs it off.

 _Who could possibly be that special?_

The stranger continues to walk toward the guard unarmed, but the guard aims his gun at her and readies the trigger pull. "I asked who you are!" She does not answer him and instead, pulls her right hand up toward her left shoulder, revealing sharp and clean nails. In a quick swing, she slaps the guard's face with the back of her hand, crushing the helmet and sending his head clean off his shoulders and spattered blood across the wall, his body dropping and she continued to walk un-phased. The loud crash of metal and broken bones turns White Fang heads to the intruder, 7 of them on the floor pointing their guns.

They all pull the trigger on her and as the bullets escaped, time itself seemed to halt, the bullets suspended on the spot and everyone still. She walks up to each bullet, lifting it up and aiming it back toward each of the faunus' heads, returns to her original spot, and time returns to normal, each bullet smashing through their heads. She continued to walk forward past the bodies as bright red lights shimmered behind her under them and heads to the shaken elevator, lifting her right foot and stomping on the edge, causing it to break and free fall. Jumping down, she lands on it as it sparks out of control against the shaft and as she passes the floor Ember was prisoner, time slowed quickly once more. She jumps from the still elevator and as both feet touch the tile, the elevator hurls downward and crashes below. She turns around and looks down off the edge, seeing a large thin hole a few feet below.

Smirking, revealing canine fangs, she walks away and opens the door to Ember's room, a single White Fang member inside. She quickly pulls her assault rifle up to the intruder and fires the whole magazine at her. After the flashing of bullets stopped, the Faunus is dumbfounded as she was still standing there, staring at her. She lifts her left hand which is balled in a fist and opens it up, every dust bullet caught and dropped onto the floor.

The White Fang member becomes nervous, pulling out a silver handgun and points it at her, just to get it snatched away from her by the intruder. She then pushes the handgun to the White Fang's head and fires, leaving the room moments later examining the handgun. Inside the room, a red hole underneath the body forms and skinny pale hands with long fingers and nails reach up and grab it, dragging it in and closing.

She continued to walk, the room holding the bodies and large dome wide open for her to walk right in. Looking around, she sees nothing of importance to stay so she continued walking, white fang members littered around attempting to surround her. She shoots every member, one after the other at point blank range, their Aura not enough to stop the bullets from being fatal. As the bodies fell, more grasping hands grab the bodies and drag them into the red holes. Shrugging nonchalantly, she squats down and springs up through the giant hole in a fluid motion, landing outside on her feet gracefully.

Looking back, she holds up her left hand toward the building, the ground beginning to tremble. Cracks in the ground with beaming red lights circle the whole building and the ground falls into a red pit below as though the ground is hollow, the building as a whole shaking and sinking slowly. Members she had not killed scream inside the building as the building is swallowed by the vicious red light and after it is several meters below, the ground crushes together. The red lights fade and the intruder smiles, placing a hand on her hip and walks away, tossing the handgun up and down as she walks away.

 _ **To be Continued**_ _ **…**_

 _ **Volume 1 End**_

* * *

 _ **I do apologize for the long wait but I will be far more frequent and already have plenty of new content ready to go!**_


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